Joseph had every right to be angry—to never speak to his brothers again. Their whole family had been a mess from the very beginning. 

Joseph’s father, Jacob, provoked his sons by openly favoring Joseph over the others (Gen. 37:3-4). Joseph’s brothers responded by considering murder and then settling for selling Joseph to some traveling traders who took him to Egypt (Gen. 37:18-28). 

Joseph didn’t find people in Egypt to be much better than his brothers. Potipher’s wife lied and accused him of assaulting her. Joseph spent years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit (Gen. 39:11-20). Then the cupbearer forgot his promise to help Joseph get out, and he was left for two more years of imprisonment (Gen. 40:23). 

But in all of these hardships, Joseph knew the Lord was with him and the Lord was at work. He told his brothers:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20, NIV)

Joseph was right—God used him to provide for the Egyptians and the surrounding nations when seven years of famine hit the land. God used Joseph to provide for his father and brothers when they came to Egypt to buy food. And God used Joseph to bring his family to Egypt, where centuries later, God would put His power and faithfulness on display by bringing His people out of their oppression and leading them to the Promised Land. 

The fact that God used Joseph’s brothers’ harmful actions doesn’t excuse their behavior. They sinned, just like those whose wrong choices affect you and me. Without taking away from human responsibility, God’s sovereignty over all that touches our lives gives us comfort and hope when we suffer because of the bad decisions or sinful actions of others. 

Has someone ruined your day? Your month? Your year? It’s not okay that they are treating you this way. (And if you are in an abusive relationship, please get help.) But in the midst of your pain, remember this: God can use even the sin of others to accomplish His good plan for our lives. 

No matter what you face this week, God can use your greatest problems to bring about His greatest purposes. 

I’m really showing off my geek badge here, but it’s true: I love editing. I can’t read anything without wanting to pull out a red pen, eliminate the word clutter, fix the grammatical mistakes, and improve the writing in any way I can. I even self-edit text messages before sending them. (Don’t worry, I don’t edit other people’s texts!) 😉 

When I read Galatians 2:16, I want to reach for my red pen. Paul seems to be running around in circles, saying the same thing over and over: 

“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

We’re not justified by works but by faith . . . And we have believed, so we are justified . . . Oh, and did I mention that it’s by faith in Christ and not by works? . . . Right, because no one can be justified by the works of the law. Ok, Paul! We get it! 

Why isn’t Paul being more concise? Did he forget to run this letter by his editor? 

I think Paul is being wordy and repetitive on purpose. He knows we will read this and mentally agree with it, but then an hour later we’ll be out there acting like it’s up to us to earn God’s favor. It’s so ingrained in our human nature to think our value depends on our performance. 

This is good news we need to hear over and over and over again: We are justified through faith in Christ and not by works of the law. To be justified means we are declared righteous by God. He looks at Jesus and sees His perfect record of righteousness. Based on His perfection, we are declared righteous. We could never earn this righteousness, but God gives it to us as a free gift of His grace. 

If you didn’t earn it, you can’t lose it. Justification by faith is a certainty we can cling to even when we fall short, mess up, or even fail miserably. 

No matter what you face this week, you are justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. 

I have many parenting moments that I’m not proud of, but one of my worst mom-fails happened as I slept. My daughter was frightened in the middle of the night and came to my room to wake me up. She shook my shoulder and said my name, but I kept snoozing. My neglected little girl eventually gave up and went back to bed. 

As I read Mark 4, I wonder if the disciples felt a little bit like my daughter that day on the Sea of Galilee. They were scared, and Jesus was sleeping. 

“On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:35–38)

Let’s pretend we never heard this story in Sunday school, and we don’t know what the next verses say. (We’ll get to them next week.) What does this passage teach us about being in the middle of the storm of suffering? 

When the waves are crashing over the side of your boat and it’s filling with water, it’s doesn’t mean Jesus  has abandoned you. Jesus was right there with the disciples, and He’s right here with you. 

If it seems like Jesus is sleeping while you suffer, it’s not because He doesn’t care. It’s because He cares about you that He’s waiting for the perfect time to calm the storm. As we’ll see next week, He always has a purpose to His timing, even when we can’t understand it. And in the meantime, you can trust that He is with you.  

No matter what you face this week, Jesus is with you in the storm of your suffering.