Main Thought
Almost everyone who has ever lived has been hurt. These hurts could be unintentional or intentional; small or great; fleeting or long-lasting. We know what it’s like to be hurt, yet we still long for hope. How do we find hope after we’ve been hurt? It can start with an altered perception. God’s bigger plan is often revealed through adversity. God can re-purpose pain and use it to bless people. Understanding this helps us to interpret what God wants to accomplish for us and through us, even in the midst of suffering. Then, as we faithfully walk with God to accomplish His will, His plan of redemption begins to unfold. Our godly responses can create channels through which hope, healing, and restoration can flow.
Main Passages
28 So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
- Genesis 37:23-28 NLT
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
- Genesis 45:4-5
8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
- Genesis 45:8-10
Discussion Questions
What stands out to you in the Main Thought or Passages above?
Have you ever seen hurt turned into an opportunity for hope, either in your life or in the life of someone you know? What happened?
In the story of Joseph, hurt gave way to hope through renewed perception; an interpretation of God’s perfect will; and, redemption brought about by godly responses. Which one of these three things might be most helpful to you in a difficult situation you’re facing?