Setback?
The children of Israel had to have reason to move to Egypt to be able to grow without disturbance. There in Egypt over 200 years they grew from 70 to a nation of millions.
So, circumstances unfolded: Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, therefore later loving her son, Joseph, more than his other sons. As those sons became jealous of Joseph, they seized him and sold him into slavery, laying the groundwork for his falling into the hands of Potiphar, whose wife’s failed seductions prompted Potiphar to have Joseph imprisoned. That incarceration – a debilitating setback — was the necessary portal to enable Joseph to meet the imprisoned wine steward, who later would become the vehicle for introducing Joseph to Pharaoh. Once elevated to viceroy status, Joseph could bring his father and brother — the children of Israel — into Egypt, intending thereby solely to save them from famine when, in fact, God’s greater plan was for them to become a people with their own uniquely crafted culture and civilization.
That is how life goes. Setbacks and complications, with no clear reason “why,” until years pass and the master plan becomes a bit discernible. But within each setback are the seeds from which greater things can germinate. Things often happen for reasons. Sometimes we need only pause long enough from asking “Why me?” to discern perhaps why and to appreciate fascinating new opportunities about to unfold. Invite someone today to take a closer look at Christ and his church and if the answer happens to be a setback look for the opportunity!
