Genesis 45:4-8 
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 

“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, Lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” (NIV)

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The worst thing that happens to you may turn out to be the best thing that happens to you. 

God can do more with our personal disasters than we can with our strategic planning and most creative work. 

Favoritism led to jealousy. Jealousy nearly led to murder, but settled for selling a brother into slavery. Slavery led to significant success, followed by a false accusation, which led to wrongful imprisonment. 

Wrongful imprisonment led to more significant success and years of waiting for something, anything to change. False hope led to more waiting. Then, in a moment, Joseph’s time came. 

Years later, after all the bad times were over for good, the opportunity came to settle some old scores. Over the course of years, the knots of Joseph’s past were unraveled, and the pains of broken relationships were healed. 

Jacob would soon see what Joseph saw: God was in it after all. 

All of the turmoil of the previous generation never exceeded God’s promises to Jacob. He who had been so abundantly blessed by God was now more blessed than ever. 

Joseph used the blessings of his status to bless his father, brothers, and their families. The one they considered as good as dead saved them all from starvation.

The worst thing that ever happened to Jacob, losing his favorite son from his favorite wife, led to the best thing he could have ever imagined.

The worst thing that happened to Joseph, losing his freedom and privilege as the favorite son, led to him becoming the second most powerful man in Egypt. 

What might God be doing to redeem the worst thing that ever happened to you?

Live a life like Joseph. Bloom where you’re planted at home, in someone else’s service, in the dungeon, and in the seat of power. Honor God and bless others.

Live a life like Jacob. Wrestle with God even if you lose your dreams in favor of God’s dreams for you. Know God’s purpose and plan is better than yours and is full of delights you will not see coming. 

Don’t give up on God.

Don’t give up on life. 

Don’t give up on the possibility of a miraculous outcome. 

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I will bloom where I’m planted so that I may honor God and bless others.

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Our Father, thank you that your hand is upon me even when I otherwise feel abandoned. When I am at wit’s end, you are at peace. When turmoil rules every day, you are still in charge. When I feel like nothing really matters, you are in the process of turning the mundane into miracles. I will trust you to see what I cannot. I will trust you to work out your will in your way in your timing. I belong to you. Amen.