(Photo: On the road to Sejong, South Korea)

I have been struggle-busing a lot lately. The time-consuming tasks at work, the day-in-day-out confrontations that drain my energy, the endless chores, the inability to get true rest, some personal matters that are weighing heavy on my heart – it’s all adding up to make a grumpy Ali who is finding it difficult to get up and get to work every day. 

Maybe it’s seasonal depression, maybe it’s because it’s eight months into the school year and we’re all sick of each other, maybe it’s Maybelline. 

But in the struggle to get out the door each day, I’m wrestling with God and trying to see what His purposes are for this season of my life. I don’t want to miss His voice and His direction. I want to let His words have their way in my life – I want to abide in His presence. And where better to start than in His Word?

This week, as I dragged myself through my devotions, God met me in one of my favorite Bible stories: Joseph. 

I love the story of Joseph. 

I love how he starts out as a little upstart teenager, showing off his coat of many colors and very unwisely sharing his dreams of everyone bowing down to him with any and all who will listen. I can just imagine him as a strongwilled, arrogant teenager who knows everything and makes that everybody else’s problem. 

I can imagine the fear and despair he must have felt to have his own siblings betray him and sell him into slavery. The uncertainty and longing he must have felt to be ripped from all that he has ever known, never to see his homeland again. 

I love how teachable Joseph is – after that initial display of arrogance and indiscretion, he flees to the only One who can give him refuge and solace: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He endures the humiliation of slavery and is elevated to a position of power in Potiphar’s house. Yet he is tested again as Potiphar’s wife attempts to seduce him. And here you see his growth and his obedience to God, he doesn’t linger, he doesn’t cave, he flees temptation, even when it costs him what little gain that he had in the world. 

I love seeing Joseph faithfully doing his work in the prison. He didn’t just resign himself to his fate and grudgingly do his work. He did his duties so well, he was noticed by the head of the prison and advanced to a position of authority. Wherever God placed him – pit, Potiphar’s house, prison – Joseph demonstrates faithfulness, hard work, and obedience, no matter his circumstances. 

I love seeing Joseph’s patience when he is given a chance to break free – after successfully interpreting the cupbearer’s and baker’s dreams – and he pleads for the cupbearer to advocate for him. How tortuous those next two years of being utterly forgotten must have felt to him – yet he continued to endure and patiently work until the Lord determined the perfect time for him to be delivered from prison and to serve as Pharaoh’s right hand man. 

I love Joseph’s forgiveness – even as he somewhat cheekily tests his brothers – he sees how they have changed, he gives them back their money, he provides for their needs, he forgives and welcomes them back with weeping and with joy. 

I love Joseph’s sacrificial love when his brothers come to him, fearful of his retribution after the death of their father. How gently he treats his brothers who once betrayed him! He saw God’s providence coming to light “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:19-21). How well he displays the saving love of God!

I love the conviction of this passage, especially when I compare the smallness of my problems to the great trials and sufferings that Joseph faced. The story of Joseph gives so many applications for all of the seasons of life:

Are you young and naive? God has plans for you. 

Are you rejected and betrayed by loved ones? God will never leave you nor forsake you. 

Are you fearful? Turn to God and hope in His Word.

Are you faced with temptation? Flee to God. 

Are you experiencing injustice? God sees, hears, and He will one day right all wrongs. 

Are you weary with the drudgery of life? Faithfully work as unto God and not to man, you never know what God is preparing for you. 

Are you forgotten? Seek God in your abandonment – you are never out of His sight. 

Are you in seasons of plenty? Deal gently with those who are struggling. 

Are you in a position of power? Use it to bless and forgive others. 

I love the story of Joseph because it mirrors the beautiful Gospel of Christ. There is loss, pain, and betrayal, but in the midst of suffering, there is comfort, rescue, forgiveness. 

Right now, I can relate to Joseph’s seasons of being forgotten and waiting to hear from God. The days seem long and sometimes tedious, the purpose unclear, the wait is wearisome. But I can take comfort in the same hope that Joseph had – God is here. God does not forget. God is faithful. God sees. And though the season may be dry, my mission and purpose is the same: Love God, seek Him, and all these things – daily needs, purpose, joy, mission, delight – will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).