When God is with us

We all know the story of Joseph in the Book of
Genesis. As we all know so well, his life was full of hardships. He
was very much loved by his father. But since his brothers were
jealous, they sold him to merchants as a slave, and Joseph had
to go somewhere far away. (Murdering him was their first plan
tho…) and what happened? He became a head servant of a
general’s house. And not long after that, the general’s wife lied
to people (because, you know, Joseph was hot and he didn’t
want to sleep with her) and the general sent him to a prison.
He went through 13 years of hardships. He was 17
when he was sold as a slave, and he was 30 when he finally got
out of a prison. It seems like he wasted his youth, the years that
can be the freest, and the most vibrant time of his ONE life. But
it seems like Joseph does not lose hope at all. It seems like his
heart was always on the right track even if things in his life were
not in the right track. What was the key? How could he do that?
It was because bible says that “the Lord was with Joseph.” It was
God who was with Joseph.

Since God was with Joseph, he was able to be faithful
at a place where God wanted him to be. Since God was with
Joseph, he did not sin when the wife of Potiphar was tempting
him to sleep with her. (And though she spoke to Joseph day
after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
Gen.39:10) Joseph knew exactly who was with him, so he did not
sin by sleeping with her.

The Lord was with him, so when his brothers asked him
to forgive them, he could forgive them. He knew that God was
behind all the things that happened to him. He knew that God is
the Lord, not Him. He also knew that God allowed all those
hardships because He wanted to use Joseph to save lives. (Don’t
be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being
done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will
provide for you and your children. Gen. 50:19-21)

When we are going through hardships, let’s always
remember that God is with us. As He is with us as our Strength,
He will lead us when temptation comes. He is with us that we
know God orchestrates in our lives for the best, and that best is
to save lives (even people who hurt us) around us. We may not
become the president of a country, but we are the children of
God, who know God is with us, and we live our lives to glorify
Jesus and to save lives around us.

 

Neal Lee