Overlooking the Details

These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.
Acts 7:9-10 NLT

If Stephen's recitation was all we knew of Joseph's story, we might think everything was hunky-dory... After all, God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles, and gave him favor and also gave him unusual wisdom. Four sentences to cover 13 of the worst years of Joseph's life. He went from favorite son to betrayed brother, sold into slavery, to house servant, was falsely accused, and thrown into prison, then later appointed governor whereby he was in a position to save Israel and her patriarchs... the same patriarchs who sold him into slavery to begin with. This is Stephen's abbreviated version of Joseph's story from the pit to prison to the palace... basically to hell and back.

Four sentences to cover 13 years of obedience to God in every situation, despite all the suffering for doing the right thing, making the right choices in spite of great adversity, and following God's commandments. It's an incredible story. You can read it for yourself, beginning in Genesis, chapter 37.

The first time I ever read this I wondered why Stephen included Joseph's story if he was going to leave out all the pertinent details. Then the Holy Spirit pointed out that Stephen had included the two most important details...God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.

We would do well to remember those same details when we feel like all hell has broken loose in our lives. That in spite of everything, God is with us and He will rescue us from all our troubles.

Prayer:

Father,
            Keep our eyes ever focused on You. Keep our hearts pure before You. Let us not be found faithless in the face of adversity. We want to faithfully serve You and care for others so that we are where You'd have us to be at the appointed time to fulfill Your purpose for our lives. Help us, O God. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen