Have you ever found yourself in the right place at the right time? Looking back at our lives we may remember moments when our presence in a particular place changed the direction of our lives. Do you believe an unseen hand guides our lives in ways that we cannot see or understand? I do.
Joseph would not have scripted his life in the way it turned out. If being a slave were not enough, now he was a slave in jail. But the narrator of Genesis tells us he was a very successful slave. He was successful in Potiphar’s house until he was falsely accused. In the jail, he could have just given up, but his character was steadfast. What was the secret to his success? Joseph lived his life in the presence, provision, and protection of God. Even in jail, Joseph could not fail.
When servants of Pharaoh ran afoul of their king, they ended up in the same jail. Not by coincidence, they were put under Joseph’s care. To quote a strange country song, “Joseph had friends in low places.” When the cupbearer and baker of the King each had a dream, they found that God had placed them in the presence of one who could interpret dreams. Despite all the bad things in his life, God stayed with Joseph, preparing him for his greater plan.
If we were writing the script of our own lives, we might have changed certain events to protect ourselves from pain. But it is so often in those painful places that God is preparing to use us greatly. Success is in God’s hands alone.
Where has God placed us today? Instead of asking, “Why?” we might start our prayer today with, “Since . . .” Since we are where we are, how will God use us in this place? We don’t always know why God has allowed us to experience what we have experienced, but we may be sure that God is with us working all things together to make us like Christ.
