Devotional: Joseph on the Providence of God

Genesis 41:52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

I spent half an hour writing up this devotional, and when I tried to post it, the whole thing disappeared.  Blogger always automatically saves my work as I go, so there was no reason why it should have disappeared like that.  I was very upset at first, but then I was ashamed of myself for my reaction as I realized that I had not learned the very lessons I was trying to write about.  I believe God wiped that devotional out for the purpose of pulling me up short and teaching me this lesson in a practical way.  So, once again, here we go...

As I have been reading the story of Joseph, I am impressed with his grasp on the providence of God.  Here he was, thrown into a pit by jealous brothers, sold to slave traders and taken to Egypt, framed by his boss's wife, thrown into prison and forgotten for several years, then eventually God gave him the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream and he was made second in command in the land of Egypt.  I don't know if he developed his perspective on God's providence after he was able to look back and see how things worked out or if it was the providence of God that he held fast to during all these years that gave him hope to keep going.  I am inclined to think it was the latter.  Why else would he have continued to work with excellence even in prison so that the guard put him in charge of the other prisoners?  Had he not held a firm grasp on the providence of God, I think he would have thrown his hands up in despair and sunk down in depression.  But he didn't.

Let's take a look at his thought process here:

Genesis 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Genesis 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Genesis 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, 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.

Genesis 41:52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

Joseph saw God as the first cause of all things in his life.  Somewhere along the line he developed a sense of God's control in his life in spite of all the bad things that happened to him and he continued to strive for excellence in all he did.  He was a good steward of the circumstances that God brought into his life. 

Think of the impact Christians could make on our nation if we all got a good grasp on the providence of God and strove for excellence in all we do?  Think of the impact it would be if we raised our children to know and understand God's providence and control in all the events of their lives and taught them to work with excellence as Joseph did!  Let's remember Joseph next time we are tempted to be upset about our circumstances and let's work with excellence in all we do.  I don't know about you, but I have a long ways to go as evidenced by my reactions when I lost the first devotional I had written on this subject.