DAILY?READINGS: Deut. 31:14 to 32:14; Hosea 1; Luke 17:1-19
And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions. Acts 7:9-10
Hated by his brethren; sold into slavery; slandered by Potiphar’s wife; and imprisoned—yet three times over we read “The Lord was with Joseph.” All these tragic events in his life were but the out-working of the sovereign purposes of God, and paradoxically, each downward step was leading to unprecedented heights of glory. In our trials, so often we wonder why God doesn’t intervene and stop the downward spiral. We must never forget that just as the Lord was with Joseph, so also He is with us in our trials. He has great things in mind for us. —W. H. Burnett
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour,
The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. —W. Cowper