The Same Ending

"So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household." Genesis 50:22

There couldn’t be a better title for my Bible Study by Kelly Minter than Finding God Faithful. Chapter upon chapter the song remains constant and the promise continues in truth…The Lord was with Joseph. The last five chapters of Genesis chronicle the life of Joseph, his father, and his brothers. Once Joseph returned from honoring his father’s wishes of being buried in the land God had promised, I’m sure reflection over his life settled in. He had been a boastful brother…a favored son…a teenager sold as a servant…a presence in the palace… a criminal constantly handcuffed …rescued and exalted…reunited and reconciled with family. Those circumstances had occurred in the many years behind him with fewer years to live ahead of him. We’re not sure how old he was when his dad had died, but he was certainly in his later years.

Yesterday when I was walking, I was considering the reflection that Joseph must have been contemplating which led to my own reflection of my life. Over the next 12 months, our little group of friends will usher in our 60th birthday one by one. There are more years lived behind me than the years ahead of me. As I straighten the rearview mirror glancing at the years past, my first thought was that I pray that my legacy would not be based on the years leading up to 2006. 2006 is the year that God had seen enough with the squanderings of my life and called me deeper through His word. He had witnessed my pits and palaces…my sins and a little bit of righteousness…my failures and successes. But in considering my legacy, I became aware of the spiritual work the years behind me has done, and the growth God brought out of those seasons. Without my mistakes and failures of the past years, I would never have grown in the freedom and faith for the years ahead of me. Had I lived in the guilt and regret of past sin, I would be denying God’s forgiveness and forgoing the freedom God wants for me. So I find myself this morning humbled and grateful as I finish the narrative of Joseph’s life.

God’s narrative for him seems hauntingly similar to our stories. Some of us were born into chaos while others were born into favor. Some of us were betrayed by family members while others were protected by family. But all of us have experienced seasons in the pit while other times we have lived in the palace. And just like Joseph, in all those times the Lord has been with us every step we took.

Joseph's story is a story of caution that man’s favor is fickle so stay anchored in Christ. His story is one of encouragement that the pit is not permanent so stay hopeful. His story reminds us that no matter what situation in which we find ourselves, the Lord is with us so stay faithful. We all have different stories that are unfolding on our different horizons, but we all have the same ending…the Lord was, and is, and will be with us all the way to eternity!