This year we’re collaborating with writers across the Augustine Collective, a network of student-led Christian journals, to bring you a series of short devotional articles during this season of Lent, the 40-day period prior to Easter. Find this series also published by UC Berkeley’s TAUG and Cornell’s Claritas.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” – Genesis 50:20 (ESV)
The story of Joseph resonates with me. It shows God’s perfect timing, His commitment to working in our lives, and His unwavering plan to prosper us in the future. I will sum these things up with a single phrase: With God, there is always a meanwhile.
For those who are unfamiliar with his story, Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob. He flaunted his father’s favoritism, and his brothers, overcome with jealousy, sold him into slavery. But the Lord was with him, and Joseph ended up in the house of a good Egyptian master. One day, however, the master’s wife falsely accused Joseph of assaulting her which landed him in prison for two years.
When I read this story, I imagine Joseph saying “God, what the heck?? Can you give me a break?” I think we can all relate to this—feeling like life keeps knocking us down.
But with God there is always a meanwhile.
After two years in prison, a cupbearer of Pharaoh remembered Joseph from prison, and informed Pharaoh that Joseph could interpret dreams. Joseph got an audience with Pharaoh, interpreted his dream, and ultimately became second in command to Pharaoh.
When Joseph’s brothers found out, they feared for how Joseph will repay them. But Joseph’s response was Genesis 50:20: “What you have meant for evil, God has meant for good.” At the beginning of the story, Joseph was prideful and overzealous, and he surely would have responded to his brothers with wrath. But while he was in prison, the Lord softened his heart and humbled his spirits. The Lord prepared his heart for this moment.
I oftentimes ask God “why?” Why do relationships suddenly end? Why are friendships sometimes difficult to navigate? Why do I try so hard to feel joy but still feel such despair?
But with God there is always a meanwhile.
He is preparing you for what He has called you to do. If Joseph got out of prison when he wanted to, he would have never had an audience with Pharaoh. He would have never had the chance to save many lives. Like Joseph, our expectations are rarely what is actually best for us. But God has a plan, and His timing is always perfect. And while we wait for what He has in store, we can be assured that He is working on our hearts and in our lives.
This verse is a great reminder that what the enemy has tried to make you think is the end, God will use for good. He has something better planned. He is a promise keeper, and He promises to prosper you and give you a hope and a future. So don’t sit in prison and think this is the end; God is sitting in prison with you jumping up and down, excited for what’s coming.
Dear God,
Thank you for being the God of the mountain and of the valley. Thank you for giving me a reason to rejoice in the valley because that means that you are working in my heart and something incredible is coming. Thank you for the hope of the future, whether I’m in the lowest point of my life or the highest, because you are the God of both.
Amen.
Anne Mason Roberts is a freshman at Davidson College who can be found binge-watching documentaries, winning at Bananagrams, and hanging out at Disney World.
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