Genesis 41

Our world is broken, and it feels like now more than ever, creation is collectively groaning out for salvation. No matter what we do, we can’t stop the coronavirus, we can’t provide economic security, we can’t protect our loved ones from getting sick. We need the God of the universe to be in control, because without Him we are lost. 

Pharaoh was in the same place. In those days, famine meant utter disaster. Ancient people relied almost exclusively on their own crops for food, and nearly perfect conditions were needed in order to produce crops. Without God’s intervention, Egypt probably would have crumbled. 

Does anyone else feel like their world is crumbling? If we really think about it, I think we can relate to Joseph. No, we aren’t slaves in Egypt or sitting in prison awaiting rescue, but we are sitting in a broken world awaiting our savior. Joseph was sold into slavery when he was 17, and spent the next 13 years as a slave, but his restoration was immediate. God was working in the background the entire time. It was God who gave Pharaoh the dream, God who used Joseph to interpret it, God moved Pharaoh to choose Joseph and then provided restoration not only for the Egyptian people, but to Joseph and his family. 

God is never far from our suffering, and He is never deaf to our cries for rescue. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). If you are hurting and asking God for relief, pray in faith knowing that your Heavenly Father hears you, and He is working all things out for your good and His glory (Romans 8:28).