Unseen, but present

What was Joseph thinking when his brothers seized him at Dothan and sold him to the Ishamelites?

“Where is God?” would be the likely response.

Strangely enough, it was at Dothan hundreds of years later that another person was wondering, “Where is God?”

The prophet Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the enemy’s army, and his servant was filled with fear. But Elisha reassured his servant,

Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them. (2 Kings 6:16)

Then Elisha prayed,

Lord, please open his eyes and let him see. (2 Kings 6:17)

Suddenly the servant saw that they were protected by the Lord’s army. God hadn’t abandoned them. He had been there all along.

So he was with Joseph.

And so he would be with Jesus thousands of years later even as Jesus cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

And just as he used the evil of the brothers to save Jacob’s entire family including those brothers, he used the evil of the Jewish leaders to save us from our sin.

So whatever you’re going through remember: You may not be able to see God in your circumstances. But he is present. And he is working for your good. (Romans 8:28)