Trusting God’s Providence (Joshua 16:1)

The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel.
—Joshua 16:1

Joshua 16:1 could seem like a simple verse describing the allotment of land that goes to the people of Joseph. But pause with me and think about this picture, because this was hard to see coming back in, say, Genesis 37, when Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and then thrown into a dungeon for over a decade.

Stuck in a dungeon, who would picture that he would even live one day? His brothers wanted to kill him. And then, as a slave thrown into a dungeon—think about Genesis 50:20—what others intended for evil, God intended for good. God was preserving Joseph and his entire family. He would use Joseph, even through his sufferings, to keep his family alive during famine, working in ways that no one could have imagined or planned.

I just want to encourage you with this reminder today. You may be going through confusing days—dark days where you have so many questions about why things are happening. I don’t presume there are easy answers for that, but I do know this and want to encourage you with it straight from God’s Word: you don’t see the whole picture, but a good, wise, loving, all-powerful, and sovereign God sees the whole picture. He is working in ways you don’t see that will bear fruit in ways far beyond what you can imagine. So trust in him.

I want to lead us to pray. God, amidst all kinds of circumstances in all of our lives where we wonder what you’re doing, where this is going, or why this is happening, we say together right now: we trust in you. We trust that you have the power to take what is evil, hurtful, and painful and turn it for good in ways that are far beyond what we could ask or think, even if we knew to ask or think them.

God, we praise you for the gospel that shows this. We praise you for taking the most evil act in all of history—the murder of your own Son—and turning it into the greatest moment in all history, so that we might be forgiven of our sins through his death on a cross and his resurrection from the grave. All glory be to your name as the God who takes evil and turns it to good.

We praise you for how you did that in Joseph’s life. We praise you for how you showed that so powerfully through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. And we trust in you to do this in our lives.

God, we pray that you’d help us to encourage others who are walking through hard days with the hope that’s found in your promises. Help us to speak the truth of your promises wisely and gently into the lives of others who are hurting.

A Prayer for the Akasselem People

And God, into a world that’s hurting, we pray specifically today for the Akasalem people in Togo. God, please cause the Akasalem to be reached with the good news of the hope, life, and love found in Jesus that overcome evil, sin, and suffering in this world. Please, O God, we pray for the goodness of the gospel to spread to all the nations, including, we pray, the Akasalem people in Togo. Help us, God, to spend our lives spreading this good news with the hope that one day we will be with you in heaven. You will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and we will see what you have been doing all along in ways that we never could have imagined.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.