A Matter of Perspective

     Genesis 45: 4-7 - “Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come close to me.' When they had done so, he said, 'I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 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. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”

      Talk about seeing the glass half full—Joseph was clearly an optimist. I was really struck by Joseph's words to his brothers as I read this passage. At this point, Joseph had been through so much. His own brothers were so jealous of him that they wanted to kill him. Instead, they sold him into slavery. He was then falsely accused of adultery and imprisoned. In this same situation, I'm pretty sure I would be moping around whining about all the bad things that had happened to me. And I'm certain I would find it extremely difficult to forgive my siblings for causing all of my troubles!

     But Joseph chose not to view his situation this way. For him, his sufferings were merely a matter of perspective. Joseph to chose to focus on the bigger picture rather than waste his time lamenting all the ways everyone around him had done him wrong. And not only did he forgive his brothers unconditionally, but he went one step further and urged them to forgive themselves for what they had done to him.

      Despite everything he went through, Joseph was able to see the hand of God in his plight. He was aware that nothing could happen to him unless God allowed it to happen, and that God had a clear purpose, even when Joseph could not see it. Joseph trusted God so much that he claimed God was the one who sent him to Egypt (rather than his brothers), so that he could use Joseph to save many lives, including the lives of his family—the same family that had wanted him killed!

   I also love the way the story of the famine parallels what Joseph went through. Joseph went through several bad years of famine in his life, only for God to deliver him into a great time of reaping. Joseph trusted God in his years of personal famine, and God rewarded him greatly for his faith.