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Joseph was chosen, special, elected, confirmed not just by his father’s favoritism but also by dreams given to him by God. Yet, as scholar Gary Anderson says, “Election is not a matter simply of a set of benefits to be claimed and enjoyed; election involves a cost.” Joseph paid a cost.

Helen Keller became deaf and blind after an illness before she was two years old. Years later, having overcome numerous challenges, she said: “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

After three days in prison, Joseph presented his brothers with their test. One of them must stay behind in prison while the rest bring food back to their households. Then they are to bring the youngest brother, Benjamin, to Egypt to prove that their story was true (v. 20).

Dallas Willard wrote that a thief is not only someone who steals but someone who would steal, if the right situation presented itself.

The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.” This belief enabled Joseph to not only be at peace with his history but also to reconcile with his brothers who had treated him so unjustly.

Our study has focused on Joseph, but our passage today reminds us that the Joseph story is about more than simply the experience of one individual. This is the story of a family, a community in relationship with God. God had made a covenant with Abraham that necessitated the creation of a family. Several generations later, we can see how God’s...

People who move to a new country—whether as immigrants, refugees, or missionaries—often try to learn their new culture while maintaining their previous national and cultural activity. The first generation might keep their language and customs, but their children and grandchildren assimilate more until the original cultural identity is subsumed...

Second-generation immigrants often struggle to know where they belong. In Affinity magazine, one second-generation teenager said: “I feel too American to be Chinese and too Chinese to be American.”

Since the earliest recorded history, humans have wanted to know the future. Some of the earliest written texts are attempts to forecast the future by tracing the pattern of the stars or through examining the entrails of a sacrificed animal. The desire to know the future is just as strong today. From forecasting the future of the economy to...

“Don’t forget where you came from!” This advice is often given to first-generation college students, people moving to another area of the country, or those who become more financially successful than their parents and grandparents. It is a call to remember that they have not achieved everything simply because of their own effort. Rather, many...