Monday meditation: An unknown future calls us to trust an eternal God

Sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, lies, jealousy, hatred. It’s the stuff of a Netflix drama or a Dateline documentary. But this is a story from the Bible. And it shows God’s ability to work around evil to accomplish his own purposes. If we were confronting the story for the first time, we’d have no guess about how well it would ultimately turn out.

It seems certain that Joseph didn’t anticipate a happy ending.

How did he feel?

The account doesn’t tell how Joseph must have felt at the bottom of the cistern where his brothers had thrown him. We have no record of what he said as they traded him to some foreigners for about eight ounces of silver. We can only imagine his fear, confusion, anger, and hopelessness.

His life had been unjustly turned upside down, with a future filled with unanswered questions. Perhaps his trip to Egypt with those Midianite traders was the world’s first “unchosen journey.”

The parallels between his situation and ours are obvious. We caregivers also face fear, confusion, anger, or hopelessness. And we have little idea how it will ultimately end.

How will it end?

“How long has your wife had Alzheimer’s?” I asked a member of my online support group. He had just told us she’s now bedbound, largely silent, attended by visiting professional caregivers every day.

“What’s behind your question?” the group’s facilitator wanted to know. I was embarrassed to say I’m wondering how many years until my wife may be in a similar situation. Like Joseph straining to see what was on the horizon ahead, I sometimes wonder about the length and the end of our journey.

What can I do?

Such thoughts may be normal, but they are undeniably unproductive. It’s a blessing from God that we can’t see the future, and he has commanded us to concentrate on today. Tomorrow will have worries of its own. Right now, with the moments just ahead of us, we can honor God by serving the person in our care.

The tasks may be as unpleasant as sleeping at the bottom of a dirty, dried-up well. We may feel as trapped as a young man separated from all he knew and anticipating instead a life of slavery in an unknown land.  

But just as God never left Joseph, he’ll be by us even though our life has taken an unexpected, unwanted turn.

Believing that gives us strength to keep moving forward.

Read: Genesis 37:17-28

Pray: Dear God, I believe you are the same God who sustained Joseph through a life full of challenges. You are the one who protected him even as some of his brothers were breathing a plot to kill him. Bless my week with life that only you can give as I seek to worship you with the trust only you deserve.

Illustration Copyright Classic Bible Art. For more information and to see more art in this series, click here.