The Pitand the Palace
Betrayed by his brothers, sold, falsely accused and forgotten. See how God was at work in every chapter of Joseph’s story, and what Genesis 50:20 means for yours.
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Some chapters of your story make no sense while you’re in them.
Joseph was thrown into a pit by his own brothers, sold as a slave, falsely accused by his master’s wife and forgotten in prison for two more years. For a long time, nothing about his life looked like a plan.
God intended it for good
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.Genesis 50:20 · NIV
Years later, standing before the brothers who sold him, Joseph named both realities. What they did was meant for harm. What God did with it was good, and many lives were saved.
The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.Genesis 39:2 · NIV
The LORD was with him
Genesis repeats it in Potiphar’s house and again in prison: the LORD was with Joseph. God’s presence didn’t begin in the palace. It was there in every low place.
the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.Genesis 39:21 · NIV
And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.Genesis 45:5 · NIV
God didn’t wait for the palace to show up. He was with Joseph in the pit and the prison.
Same events, two intentions
Joseph never pretended the betrayal was good. He held two truths together: people meant harm, and God meant good.
It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.Genesis 41:52 · NIV
A prayer in the pit
God, I don’t understand this chapter of my story. Be with me here, the way You were with Joseph. Keep me faithful while I wait, heal what others meant for harm, and use it for good in Your time. Amen.
Pray it in the hard chapterTrust God in the middle chapter
- Look for His presenceAsk where God has been with you in this season, not just how to get out.
- Stay faithful where you areJoseph served well in Potiphar’s house and in prison. Do the next right thing.
- Leave room for forgivenessAsk God to begin softening your heart toward those who hurt you.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.Isaiah 43:19 · NIV
What if God is working in the chapter you want to skip?
Name the chapter of your life you would rather skip. Where has God been with you in it? Write down one sign of His presence, however small.
Go deeper in the Word
Save the slides for your hard chapter, then keep studying.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.