At the age of 17, Joseph^[1] found favor with God revealed through his dreams. At the time, young persons like Joseph were not highly regarded by the older ones. Yet, Joseph was loved more than his brothers. God seemed to have more liking of Joseph too.

As jealousy and envy crept into the family of Jacob, Joseph suffered very much. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave and imprisoned in Egypt. 

However, all these painful experiences of Joseph became an opportunity for God to work in the life of Joseph and for his family. His innocence, his honesty and simplicity inspired the people around Joseph. It was God’s way also of making something big for Joseph.

Hence, through this young man who had been a victim of betrayal, jealousy, envy, injustice and oppression, God raised Joseph to become a person he did not imagine to be. Joseph became a savior not just for Egypt at the time of famine but also for his family.

Joseph, despite the painful memories he had with his brothers, never yielded into bitterness, anger and hatred, but into love and compassion for those who have wronged him.

With this young man, God speaks to us not to be hopeless when our life gets rough, and when we think that the world is against because of the painful events that happened in our life; remember, God can make wonders out of a messy life like that of Joseph.

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^[1] Joseph means “God will add” – a characteristic of God’s generosity.