“When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’
He replied, ‘I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?’
‘They have moved on from here,’ the man answered. ‘I heard them say, “Let’s go to Dothan.”’
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.” (Genesis 37:14b-18)
Sometimes it’s difficult to see the bigger picture in life, and sometimes it even seems impossible. We live in a culture that’s me first in almost every way, from the way that we interact with other people, to how we use our time and resources, to how we dress and think about our bodies, and everything in between. Even the media that we consume, from newspapers to books to TV shows and movies, are all pushing this same agenda: I am the main character in my story. Our first priority is often to think about how I can get ahead, how I can benefit from this or how something affects me. This may extend to our immediate family, but never really beyond that. Even see it in Christian culture we see this creeping in. How often do we place ourselves in the place of the main character in Bible stories? “Slay your giants!” we say, putting ourselves in the place of David. “I’d never deny Jesus!” we say, looking down on Peter as he denies Jesus three times.
The Bible, however, paints a radically different picture. One of the major themes of Scripture is God’s sovereignty, that He is the centre of the universe, not us. One of the most prominent parts of Scripture that testifies to this is the story of Joseph.
If you are not familiar, the story of Joseph is recorded in Genesis 37-50. I’d encourage you to give it a read, even if you have read it before.
A great supplementary resource for families (or anyone!) are Jesus Storybook Bible (pg. 74-81) and Joseph: King of Dreams (DreamWorks movie).
In Genesis 37, we read that Jacob (Israel) has sent Joseph to go search for his brothers. Joseph can’t find them at first, but, in verse 14, we read that a man found him wandering in a field and pointed him in the direction of his brothers. How easy it is to overlook the importance of this small detail!
How come this man, whose name we don’t know, just happened to be walking through the field that Joseph was in, and that he happened to not only see Joseph’s brothers, but also overhear their conversation probably hours earlier, and then was able to point Jospeh in the right direction! Without this man, Joseph wouldn’t have been sold into slavery, he wouldn’t have been able to serve Potiphar and then be thrown into prison, he wouldn’t have met the kings cup bearer and he wouldn’t have been able interpret the warnings of Pharaoh’s dreams and prepare for the coming famine, which saved all of Egypt and his family, the covenant family of God from which Jesus would come. Now imagine if that man had not been there and the consequences that would have had to the Biblical story! Clearly God was in control, working behind the scenes! Joseph recognises this in Genesis 50:20 where he says:
“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.”
Too often, we get caught up in the thinking of the culture around us. Too often we think that we’re the centre of the story, for better or for worse. But thinking about this man in Joseph’s story reminds us that we’re not the centre of the story. This is GOD’S story! God uses us for His purposes (Eph 2:10) to further the Salvation Story, bringing more people to Him. So, take heart! Remember that God is in control of all things, both big and small, and we can trust Him to put us in the right place at the right time, and that therefore we are free to serve Him and His kingdom, knowing He will take care of the rest:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:33)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!
Lochy
