MARCH 16-22: Hard Times to Blessings
Come Follow Me “God Meant It unto Good” Genesis 42-50
Joseph needed to be in Egypt. Did his brothers have to betray him to get him there? I’m sure God could have found another way, but God uses what is presented from our choices. Joseph needed to be in Egypt so he would be in the right place at the right time to save his family. And he was.
Remarkably, through all the things he faced to get him in the right place at the right time, Joseph never turned away from God. If he had succumbed to Mrs. Potipher’s advances, for instance, I believe he not only would have been discovered - perhaps by her betraying him - but it would have been cause for him be put to death. Potipher then, did him a kindness by sending him to prison.
In prison (or those seemingly impossible pits we often find ourselves in) Joseph must have been in a state of constant prayer, holding to his faith through heavy discouragements and doubts. Lifted in pinpricks of light as he finds small places where he can be of some help or comfort to another, finding acts of kindness. Continuing in faith, he is blessed with opportunity to share his unique gifts, his services eventually leading him beyond his prison walls.
Laura Story’s remarkable song is often on my mind as I pray for blessings: ‘What if the blessings come through raindrops? What if the healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights is what it takes to know you’re near?’
Blessings - Laura Story
Many years pass. Joseph is now on a throne, second only to Pharaoh, when he sees his brothers - his conniving, treacherous brothers - at his feet asking for his help. How do you respond when you are face to face with someone who has betrayed you? I’ve been in that place, and have responded in different ways: hold on to the grudge or to let it go? I imagine we all have stood at that threshold. Joseph’s response was not only compassionate, but also with maturity gleaned from his trials. In Genesis 50:20 he tells his brothers, “…Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
‘Show me how to love the unlovable... help me now to do the impossible forgiveness,’ Matthew West pleads in this song.
Matthew West - Forgiveness
It’s not just big hurts that bring us pain, but lots of little hurts, often inflicted on those, or by those, we love most. How can we stop hurtful patterns?
I can’t listen to this next song without feeling better afterward; I’ve had this video on my list for some time and forgotten to share. I’m sharing it here as a visual of leaving hurts behind and instead remembering our love.
Better Place - Rachel Platten
The Joseph Smith translation of the Bible continues the book of Genesis for several more verses and the blessing offered to Joseph in Egypt. JST Gen 50:30 “And again, a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins, and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins; 33..and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father; and he shall be like unto you; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand shall bring my people unto salvation.”
This was the mission of Joseph - to save people suffering through a famine. This is a foreshadowing of the mission of Jesus - to save people through His atoning blood. This is a foretelling of the mission of Joseph Smith - to save people through restoring covenants of salvation.
The Joseph Smith Song - Maxine Soakai
There is a divine plan. Within that plan is our agency, with many paths to choose from. God will not coerce us nor those around us; but as shown with Joseph and his brothers, God can make our choices and our hurts become the very things for our growth, and even our salvation.