Brokenness - The Protest, Part 5

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.”’ Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
Genesis 45:1-15

Although brokenness is a process, we can unnecessarily extend the time frame. We prolong God’s redemptive, constructive purposes when we fail to see God’s hand in our adverse circumstances. Joseph tasted the bitter fruits of unjust slavery and imprisonment for thirteen years before God elevated him to Pharaoh’s administrator. Confronting his brothers who had mistreated him, Joseph said: “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life...Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God...” (Gen. 45:5, 8).

Do you see God in everything, understanding that He either sends or permits all circumstances, good and evil? If He is not Lord of all, then He cannot be Lord at all. He is the Sovereign of the universe. Joseph was able to see God’s hand in his brokenness.

God is working all things for good in your shattered circumstances. He knows the heartache you face and will comfort your deepest pain. His plans are unfolding, even in the dankness of your adversity. See God behind it, and you will have His light to see you through your troubles.

“Nothing is so small or trivial as to escape the attention of God’s sovereign control.” -Jerry Bridges