Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of November 14, 2021

Weekly reading: Genesis 41-45; Psalm 65-66
Passages referenced: Genesis 37:3,4,8; 41:1; 45:5; 50:20; Psalm 27:14

We first met Joseph during last week’s reading. And his story began on a high note. Genesis 37:3 says, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.” And Joseph had dreams that he’d have great power and influence – that all his brothers and parents would bow down to him. But before chapter 37 ends, things quickly turn sour. “When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him… And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.” (Genesis 37:4 & 8) Because Joseph’s brothers couldn’t stand him, they captured him, held him captive, sold him into slavery, and then told their father that he died. After that, Joseph was sold again, accused of sexual assault, and then thrown in prison for more than two years.

That’s exactly where this week’s reading picks up. “When two full years had passed…” (Genesis 41:1) Think about that. Joseph sat in prison for two years. Knowing he was innocent. Just waiting. That sure makes me pause and think about the times that I’ve waited for things. And the things I’m still waiting for. Some of us wait for some really big things: jobs, healing, spouses, kids, restored relationships, answers to big questions, reasons for hard things, etc. Take a few minutes to think about your experience with waiting. Would you consider yourself good at waiting? What’s the longest you’ve waited for something? Are you waiting for something right now?

Psalm 27:14 says to “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Take heart. And wait. Joseph is the perfect example of someone who lived that out. There he sat in prison, innocent, holding onto the God-given dreams of his youth, waiting.

I think if I were in his shoes, I’d have been pretty discouraged by then. I imagine I’d be asking myself things like, “Is God going to rescue me? Does God see me? Is God even real? Did God give me those dreams, or did I just make them up? Did I do something wrong – something to deserve this? How the heck did I end up here? I just can’t catch a break, huh?…” And yet, we don’t see that type of response from Joseph. He remained faithful. He lived out Psalm 27:14 – he was strong, took heart, and waited for the Lord.

Eventually, Joseph was pulled from prison, interpreted the Pharaoh’s dreams, and got put in charge of everything. Quite a turnaround, huh? Long story short, famine came to the land, Joseph’s family traveled to Egypt for food, he strung them along a bit, and eventually revealed himself to them. In Genesis 45:5, Joseph said to his brothers, “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.” And in Genesis 50:20, we see what he ultimately said about his whole saga: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

So, what are we supposed to take away from this story? I’d say there are a few things to take with us from our reading. First, we can be encouraged and challenged by Joseph’s example of faithfully waiting on God. Next, I think we see that God does work – but not necessarily in our timing or the ways we’d predict. But God can use any situation. God can work in and through anything.

I want to leave you with a few questions I’m going to be pondering this week that I hope you take some time to think about as well. They could be especially beneficial for those of us in seasons of waiting or hardship. So here they are: Will we trust God? Will we be patient? Will we stay faithful? Will we “be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord?” Will we look for the ways that God is at work in the world around us? Will we give up our expectations for timing and resolutions and rest in the fact that God can work in whatever we may find ourselves in? – Sarah Neel

Do you have questions about this week’s Bible reading? We’d love to help! Rather than relying on the first thing you find on the internet, email us at biblequestions@warsaw.cc. We are more than happy to answer that nagging question you have, provide you with some clarity, or point you in the right direction for further study.