Left on a sinking ship were the captain and three sailors. The captain spoke first. “Men, this business about a captain going down with his ship is nonsense. There’s a three-man life raft on board and I’m going to be on it. To see who will come with me, I will ask you each one question. The one who can’t answer will stay behind. Here’s the first question: ‘What unsinkable ship went down when it hit an iceberg?’ The first sailor answered, “The Titanic, sir.” “On to the next question: How many people perished?” The second sailor said, “One thousand five hundred and seventeen, sir.” “Now for the third question,” and the captain turned to sailor number three. “What were their names?”
Have you ever had a day like this? Does it seem like nothing is going right and no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t seem to get any better? I think everyone has had one of those days. Before you give up and go down with the ship, consider the man Joseph. He was born into a prominent family, yet life did not always treat him well. He had eleven brothers, ten of which did not care much for him. One day his father sent him to find where his brothers were tending sheep, when they saw him coming, they conspired to put him to death. Sound like the start of a good day? Well, instead of killing him, the opportunity was presented to sell him as a slave. Joseph was sold taken to Egypt and made a servant in the house of Potiphar. While serving in Potiphar’s house, he was wrongly accused when clearly in the right and was thrown into prison.
I’m sure you can’t imagine yourself having such terrible things happen to you, especially when doing the right thing. With all these bad things happening in Joseph’s life, you would think he would become depressed and feel like giving up. The Bible tells us that he didn’t do that, but rather continued to serve the Lord, even while in prison, and God was with him. In the end, Joseph prospered, and he understood that what his brothers had meant for evil, God had meant for good.
We don’t always understand why things happen the way they do, but we can trust “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28. When you are having, “one of those days,” don’t let it sink your ship, but rather follow the example of Joseph and “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5. You can read the entire account of Joseph’s life in the Old Testament book of Genesis chapter 37 through chapter 50.
If you would like to learn more about what it means to have forgiveness in Christ, the Bible, or need prayer, we would love to visit with you. Contact us at 425-432-0634, or at taylorcreekchurch.org. Our Sunday service times are 9:00 AM for Sunday School and 10:15 AM for Worship. We are located at 21110 244thAve S.E., Maple Valley.
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