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Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
Genesis 37:28
Reflect
The man had been sitting at the bar, staring at his glass for at least an hour when the trouble-maker arrived. The burly man stepped up to the bar, snatched the drink from in front of the man and downed it in one gulp. The little man just started to cry.
“Come on, man,” the bully said. “I was just joking around. I’ll buy you a new drink if you stop crying.”
“You don’t understand,” the little man said. “This is the worst day of my entire life. It started when I overslept and was late to work. My boss was so mad that he fired me. When I went to drive home, my car had been stolen, and the police said there was nothing they could do. So I got a taxi ride home, and left my wallet, with all of my money and credit cards inside. The cab driver just drove off. And when I went inside, I found a note from my wife that she’d left me for my best friend.
“So I came here to drink and to think about ending my life. And just when I was getting ready to do that, you came in and drank my poison.”
Those are two guys who had bad days, but it’s hard to imagine that their days were even worse than Joseph’s. He was on top of the world when his brothers tossed him in a hole, faked his death and sold him into slavery. From there, his days were destined to get even worse for a while, as he was falsely accused of a crime and thrown into prison. Joseph had every reason to forsake God and turn his back on the Lord.
But God had a plan, and Joseph held on to the hope that God had not forgotten him. Ultimately, God restored Joseph to an even greater position that led to the salvation of Joseph’s entire family.
You will certainly have bad days in your future, and some may leave you beyond hope. But remember that God always has a plan, and will keep His hand on those who stay in His will. (And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28)
Today, pray that the Lord will bless your efforts this day. Also, pray that when things go wrong that He will help you stay close to Him until His ultimate plan is revealed.
Reflection copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
