When Your Life Is "In The Pit"

"And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him, and said, "Behold, we are your servants." But Joseph said to them, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." (Genesis 50:17-21)

Now I don't know of many pits where I live, but I'm pretty sure that if my siblings tossed me in one and left me for thieves to find me and sell me into slavery, I'd probably be inclined to hold a grudge against them and plot ways to get even should I ever be given the opportunity. Yet here we have Joseph, who never considered a negative response to his predicament. He was a slave and a prisoner as a result of actions out of his control, yet as a result of his faith and good will, God used his situation, not just to Joseph's personal success, but to the safety and well being of all of Egypt and Canaan.

In the story of Joseph and Egypt, we see that God can (and often does) take a bad situation and use it to His advantage. But for His plan to work, we have to accept the unfortunate situations that we are given, and remain faithful to God in the midst of our suffering. In that regard, our free will does play a role in God's salvation plan.

Consider if Joseph had taken his brothers into slavery when they came to him for food. Similarly, what if Noah had chosen not to heed God's advice to build an ark? What if Mary had said "No" to God's plan? Would God have failed in His plan to reconcile man to Himself? Unlikely -- He is God and He can do anything. Likely He would have worked with other events in history to bring about salvation, and we would now be honoring a Rebekah or a Therese as our blessed mother.

Our call then is to graciously accept our lot in life, and know that although it may seem pointless that we should have to suffer unnecessarily, perhaps if we handle our grief with humility and faith, a thousand years from now humanity will look back and credit our heroic struggles as part of God's redemptive plan.