“And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And the LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:1-2).

What a strange statement, “The Lord was with Joseph.” Wouldn’t you expect that if the Lord was so much “with Joseph” that nothing bad like being sold to wicked people and being kidnapped from his country would ever have happened to him? If the Lord was “with Joseph,” why didn’t He stop his brothers from throwing him into a pit (Genesis 37:24)? Why didn’t He stop the sale of Joseph to these Ishmaelite merchants (37:28)? We often do not understand the ways of the Lord. Though the brothers meant it to be harmful and wicked to Joseph, God was actually providing free transportation to the next prime minister of Egypt. I must be careful not to misinterpret the working of the Lord just because I don’t understand what He is trying to do.

For today: Be careful today not to wrongly judge the working of the Lord. Give Him time, and trust in His goodness always.