Genesis 37, 39, 41-48, 50

When I was a kid, my mom took me and my brother shopping at the local grocery store. It wasn’t a special trip, we just needed to pick up some groceries. But my brother and I loved to create fun wherever we went. For some reason, I decided to go one isle over and sneak up on my family. When I went back to where I thought they were to scare them, they weren’t there. I looked down the next isle, and the next, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I started to get scared and confused. I didn’t know what to do or who to ask for help. I was lost, feeling very alone. I did what many little kids would do, I started crying.

Have you ever felt afraid, scared or alone in your life?

This week is all about Joseph. He experienced the same feelings of being scared, alone and confused that we just talked about. First, Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit because they wanted to kill him. Then they changed their mind about ending his life but still sold him to a group of people walking by in the desert. Later, Joseph was sold again to a person who’s wife ends up blaming him for something he never did. That got him into big trouble and he was thrown into jail. Later in life, Joseph has to confront and stand up to his brothers, the very ones who sold him in the first place and caused all of this to happen. 

Can you imagine all of the feelings he had during these moments of his life? Scared when they tried to kill him, lost when they sold him, frustrated when he was blamed for something he didn’t do, and alone when he was sent to prison.

These are difficult feelings to have. But Joseph’s story reminds us of an important detail about God: God is always with us. I love how the Bible tells Joseph’s story. It includes a small and often overlooked encouragement about God in Joseph’s life for us. When everything was swirling out of control, the Bible reminds us that “the presence of God was with [Joseph]”, “because of Joseph, the blessing of the LORD was on everything”, and “The LORD was with him”. God was smack dab in the middle of everything that Jospeh was experiencing.

There is truth here for you too: God is always with you. He is with you in the good times, the big issues, the confusing moments, the times when you are scared… God is with you. He doesn’t leave you just because something is difficult of scary. God sticks it out through thick and thin in your life. Why does he do this? Because he loves you!

Have you ever experienced God being with you in a hard time of your life?

If you’re feeling lost or confused, scared or sad, or if you’re just wondering where God is in your life right now, I want to give you this blessing and hope from a verse in Isaiah 41:10:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”