THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
I sat staring at a television infomercial for a neck massager. A series of customers testified to its life-changing qualities. I rarely impulse buy, but I took a chance. Weeks later my treasure arrived. I ripped open the package, with the fury of a lion devouring its prey. But instead of a high-tech medical device, it was a cheap piece of plastic! I’d seen better items in thrift store reject bins. I tried it, and I’ll let you figure out how well it worked. When I attempted to obtain a refund, my efforts were as ineffective as the product itself. My take-away from this experience? Things aren’t always what they seem.
So it was with Joseph in Genesis. His brothers hated him. Really hated him. Enough to sell him to human traffickers. It’s not hard to imagine how Joseph must have felt on that slave train headed for Egypt. No longer “Daddy’s pet,” he was a slave in a foreign land. Sometime later, his master’s wife accused him of rape, and he landed in a dungeon. Out of the frying pan into the fire; then out of the fire, into the volcano. Where was God in all this?
Remember, things aren’t always what they seem. Four times Genesis 39 states that God “was with Joseph” (vv. 2, 3, 21, 23). Four times. Did it look like God was with Joseph? Any outside observer would shout “No!” But that’s like leaving a movie half-way through, just as the hero gets captured. Eventually Joseph was vindicated and became prime minister of Egypt. What Joseph couldn’t see was God was in the middle of the mess, working behind the scenes to bring triumph out of tragedy. Things aren’t always what they seem.
Ever been there? As I’ve endured the long months of Linda’s illness and death, at times God seemed far away. But like Joseph, that’s when God loves to surprise us. He’s the same God today, no matter what we’re going through. On those lonely nights, when you sob in your pillow; or when you try to figure out which bills not to pay; or in my case, when I can’t wait to get home and share something exciting with my wife, then remember she’s gone. During those moments, and thousands of others, God is still on the job. Like Joseph, he’s not finished with your story. Remember, things aren’t always what they seem.
Principle: Things aren’t always what they seem.
Ponder:
When have you experienced a time when you discovered that things are not what they seem?
During times when you feel that God is not with you, what helps you remember that God is always with you?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Genesis 39.
Prayer: Lord God, help me remember during those times when I don’t feel you’re with me, that things are not always what they seem. Remind me that you are always with me, just as you were with Joseph.
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