Joseph’s life was full of ups and downs. At the beginning of his story there seemed to be more downs than ups. If that had been us, we might’ve been tempted to say ‘It’s not fair.’ But at that point in his life there was no better place for him to be, because he was exactly where God wanted him. It was in prison that he met the royal butler, who in turn introduced him to Pharaoh, who eventually placed him on the throne. Sometimes God takes us to the bottom in order to take us to the top. The hard part is remembering that when you hit the bottom it’s not the end, but the beginning of rising again. ‘Until the time that his word…came true… the word of the Lord tested and refined [Joseph]’ (Psalm 105:19 AMP). Pharaoh was about to have a dream nobody in his kingdom could interpret except Joseph. And as a result Joseph was about to go from a zero to a hero, from prison to Pharaoh’s second in command. No one can perform that kind of miracle but God. God had something much better in mind than just release from prison for Joseph. And He has for us too. He knows where He’s taking us. He knows the lessons we need to learn along the way so that when we get there we can do the job. So let’s look for God’s hand in our situations today.

What Now?
Draw a timeline of your life so far, all the ups and downs, and then see how everything that you’ve been through has brought you to where you are now. If there are times that hurt to remember, pray that God would show you that He was right there by your side during them.