I love reading about the life of Joseph in Genesis. Somehow, this narrative always captivates me. I feel like I get a unique bird’s-eye view of God at work in the life of a young man for whom everything seemed to be going wrong. I love the way God reminds Joseph over and over that, even in the toughest and most unfair circumstances, He is with him. I am proud of Joseph as he grows in character and humility and wisdom. I am amazed at the way he trusts God and does his best in every circumstance. I am almost cheering at the end when Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of the kingdom and I am blessed by Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers.

But, most of all, I am so thankful to see the hand of God in it all. God is at work throughout Joseph’s life, through the heartaches, the fear, the anger, the depression, the joys, and the successes. Genesis 50:19-20 strikes me every time (Joseph is speaking to his brothers) – “But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

This theme is one that God preaches to me over and over. HE is in charge. HE has plans for good. HE intends to accomplish amazing things in my life and the life of my family, my household – my disabled husband, my son with Aspergers, my daughter, and my father.

I try to be in charge. I try to control things and manipulate my life and my future. I make plans for how I want things to go. But that doesn’t always turn out well. Things don’t go the way I intend for them to go. The plans I make don’t always turn out for the best. And, through the process, God gently and continually reminds me that He is with me and that if I will recognize HIS sovereignty, I will see that He is at work in my life and my family’s life just like He was in Joseph’s. Whatever seems to be for evil, God is working for good. HE has plans. HE is in charge – not the economy, the school system, the budget, the clock, the disability, the illness, or any circumstance in my life.

Recognizing that I am not God seems so obvious but I, like so much of humanity and even a certain fallen angel named Lucifer, try to be God way too often. Pride is the original sin. Thankfully, the older I get and the more God refines me and grows me, the more I turn to Him and lean upon Him to direct my path and the more I ask Him for direction and for the results. I ask Him to teach my children and to produce good in their lives. I want God’s glory to be seen in my children’s lives and for His purpose to come to be.

I am thankful for the fact that God put the story of Joseph in the Bible. It gives me hope and perspective on life. I pray that God will guide us through this year – another year of homeschooling my blessings: my Aspie son and my neurotypical daughter – and that the outcome will be God’s glory. I pray that we will recognize God’s hand at work and trust the good He is working in our lives day by day. And I pray that my children and I will become Godly, wise people through the work of God in our lives – just like Joseph.

~ Brooke