Fashionable Joe

 

Once upon a time there was a man called Joe. He had a very nice coat. It was a stylish fashionable item hand-made in Italy by a top fashion designer. He was proud of it. It was a gift from his father.

His brothers were very jealous of him. So one day, whilst out in the field looking after their sheep they kidnapped Joe and sold him to some passing traders on the way to Egypt. They soaked his coat in animal blood and told their dad that an animal had killed their brother.

In Egypt, Joe landed in prison on some made-up charge. Little did anyone know he had a special gift of interpreting dreams. One day the Pharaoh had a dream and Joe was asked to interpret it. 

You can read the rest of the story in  Genesis Chapter 37. I don't want to spoil the ending for you.

This set me thinking.

Sometimes in life we get into difficult situations and we wonder why it is happening to us. At first we might panic. We might ask why me. Get upset. Get angry. And go through all the various emotions outlined by psychologists explaining how people deal with a crisis.

Some amongst us might even blame God about our misfortunes. Perhaps we are reacting in a human natural way, perhaps not. The fact is that sometimes we do.

The thing is, I believe God allows some bad things to happen. He does not cause them. But He allows them to happen. Perhaps to nudge us in a certain direction. Perhaps to get us into a new situation in life. Perhaps so that we may meet new people and somehow influence them by our behaviour. Or they influence us maybe.

For reasons best known to Himself, God allows such bad situations according to His plan for us and for others.

Let me tell you a true story. Some years ago, a person I know very well got cancer. It was a shock that devastated the whole family, including himself. He went to hospital.

Whilst there, in the same ward as him, there was another man with exactly the same illness. He took it very badly, and so did his family. He always sat there in bed crying and wailing as if this was the end.

One day, after the visitors had left, the man I know very well got off his bed gingerly and sat next to the crying man with the same condition. In conversation, he said to him, "Don't worry. God will help you. All will be well!"

It was an odd thing to say, to come out in faith and say something like that to a man he hardly knew.

Both men were operated on. The operations were successful and both men survived. They became friends. The crying man, and his family, wanted to learn more and eventually he and his family became Christians.

I leave you to draw your own conclusions. Would the two men have ever met if they were not ill at the same time? Would a whole family have found God otherwise?

Something for all of us to remember when times are hard in our lives.