Suffering Well: How Joseph Did It

by Anita Wood · Published May 26, 2022 · Updated May 6, 2023

Suffering well: dead tree against backdrop of storm clouds and sunburst

“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God” Genesis 45:8a.

This statement was made by Joseph to his brothers after he had become a ruler in Egypt. He was saying in effect that even though his brothers sold him into Egypt, it was actually God who orchestrated the whole thing. To read the whole chapter and get some context, click here.

According To His Purpose

Joseph knew that every fiery, horrific trial he had been through (sold into slavery, wrongly accused, went to prison) worked for his good because it would help bring about God’s purpose for him.

This is why the apostle Paul said, “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28.

Now, this is only true if we continue to walk in faith and obedience. And don’t become angry, bitter, rebellious, full of self-pity etc.

Every difficult, painful trial we go through will play a part in enabling us to fulfill our part in His plan for our generation. That is, if we remain single minded and stable. In other words, if we continue to love God through it.

When Jesus went to the cross, it looked like He was sent there by the religious leaders.

But the truth is, the Pharisees were not the ones who sent Him there, but God. Because this was God’s purpose for His life on this earth. God actually used His enemies to accomplish His purpose in Jesus’ life.

It Was God Who Led Them into Their Circumstances

He did this with Joseph as well. And when Paul was a prisoner of Caesar, he said he was a prisoner of Christ, not of the emperor (Ephesians 3:1).

They knew it was God who had led them into their circumstances. And that it was necessary to accomplish His purpose for them.

King David knew this too when he was being chased by Saul in the desert. When he was running for his life and hiding out in caves, he too could’ve said “it was not you who sent me here, but God”.

It was all a part of God’s plan for David to enable him to accomplish his purpose. Here again, God used David’s enemy to accomplish something in him that was necessary to fulfill his call in his generation (and way beyond).

This Is Still True Today

I have seen this principle at work in my life too. Although from the surface, it may have seemed like my 19-year marriage from hell was the result of my mental illness and foolishness.

The truth is, it wasn’t my state of mind that put me there at all, but God. (My ex-husband wasn’t a bad man. In truth, the demise of the marriage was more my fault than his).

Even though he eventually opted out of the marriage, I still believe the union was God’s will and plan for me to enable me to accomplish His purpose.

So, what did it accomplish? Aside from giving me four beautiful children that are the lights of my life, plenty.

More than any other single event in my life, that marriage, and more specifically my response to the pain of it brought about great healing.

It was the catalyst that enabled me to mature and become emotionally healthy. It delivered me of the very mental illness that caused me to get into the marriage in the first place.

This was beneficial for me in tangible ways too because we never have more externally (for long), than we do internally.

Suffering well will bring a rainbow after the storm

To me, one of the most profound truths in the Bible is that our enemies, whether in the form of people or circumstances are really not enemies at all! God uses those very things to heal, mature and prepare us to accomplish His purposes in our generation.

God Uses What We Think Will Destroy Us to Accomplish His Purpose

He uses the people and circumstances that we think are going to destroy us and put an end to God’s good plan. He uses these very people and circumstances to bring us into the fulfillment of that plan instead.

If Joseph had not gotten to Egypt, he never would’ve become the ruler there. And he never would’ve saved the world of starvation. But couldn’t God have gotten him there in a way that involved less loss and pain?

Sure. But the loss and pain involved in the way God chose for Joseph was a necessary part of the process. King David said: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I obey your word” Psalm 119:67.

And this truth is most obvious and glorious in the life of Jesus. His enemies, motivated and animated by the devil himself, thought they were destroying him by sending him to the cross.

But now we know the end of the story. That was God’s purpose and plan for Him all along. “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” Mathew 20:28. What the devil and Jesus’ human enemies meant for evil; God meant for good.

Our Only Real Enemy is Sin

Our only real enemy is sin. We are the only ones who get in the way of God’s purpose and plan. And we do that by doing things our own way, rather than God’s way. But even when we suffer because of sin, we should still say “it was not you (tragedy, loss, heartache) that sent me here, but God”.

When we suffer because of sin, it is the sin that brings about the suffering. But the pain is intended to cause us to learn the lesson, turn from our mistake and move past it. In that sense, the suffering brought about by our sin is from God.

If we didn’t suffer for our sin, we would never turn from it. We would continue to inflict pain and suffering on others (which is what sin does) unchecked. (Actually, I’m not sure it’s even possible to sin and not suffer for it because the people we inflict pain and suffering on will inflict us back, but that’s beside the point).

Sin Sends Us to A Place of Suffering

So, sin and not God sends us to a place of suffering, generally speaking. But the principle of reaping destruction when you sow to the sinful nature was set in motion by God.

But as we see from the lives of Joseph, King David, the apostle Paul and Jesus, it’s not always our own sin that brings about suffering. Nevertheless, it always God who brought us to that place ultimately. And always to enable us to accomplish His purpose in our generation.

Every hard place, whether brought about by sin or not, is intended to bring about healing, maturity and wisdom in us. Because this is necessary to accomplish His will. To read a similar post click here: Walking in the Fear of the Lord is Harder for Some.