WHEN THINGS GO WRONG AND YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING
Sakkie Parsons
Today I share with you this story, along with the practical example of Joseph’s life, to show that sometimes, when we don’t understand what is happening to us, we simply need to keep our eyes on JESUS, our Lord and Savior, and trust Him.
GOD’S CAKE
Sometimes we wonder, “What did I do to deserve this?” or “Why did God have to do this to me?”
Here is a wonderful explanation!
A daughter was telling her mother how everything was going wrong…
She was failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her, and her best friend was moving away.
Meanwhile, her mother was baking a cake and asked her daughter if she would like a snack. The daughter said, “Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.”
“Here, have some cooking oil,” her mother offered.
“Yuck,” replied her daughter.
“How about a couple of raw eggs?”
“Gross, Mom!”
“Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?”
“Mom, those are all yucky!”
To which the mother replied:
“Yes, all those things seem bad by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way.
Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things together in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and eventually they will all make something wonderful!”
Now let me quickly show you “God’s cake” in Joseph’s life:
First, his brothers decided to kill him but instead threw him into a pit—probably to die of hunger and thirst.
GEN 37:23–24
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Keep in mind that when Joseph lay in that pit, he did not know he would ever come out again. Like any normal person, he most likely thought it was the cruel end of his life.
Then the next major crisis in Joseph’s life began—
His brothers saw Midianite traders on their way to Egypt and decided to sell him to them.
GEN 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
After already going through two major crises, Joseph was sold to Potiphar. With the knowledge he had, he likely reasoned that he would never see his family again.
GEN 37:36 Now the [c]Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Joseph, however, did not give up. He made the most of his circumstances, doing the best he could with, so to speak, the cards he had been dealt.
As a result, Potiphar came to trust him so completely that he placed his entire household in Joseph’s care.”
Just when Joseph had made a success of the mess his life had become—due to circumstances beyond his control—he ended up in another major crisis, despite trying his best to avoid it:
GENESIS 39:4–16
4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put [b]under his authority. 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s [c]hand, and he did not know what he had except for the [d]bread which he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife [e]cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” (And here comes Satan’s great attempt to make Joseph turn his back on our Lord and head toward hell.)
8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to [f]mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”
16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. (because the lust was no replaced by hatred)
As a result, Joseph was thrown into prison – and this because he had done the right thing. Now he was both a slave and a prisoner, and as far as he knew, probably for the rest of his life—but then Pharaoh sent for him to interpret his dream… and the outcome?”
GENESIS 41:39–41
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be [g]over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”(now Joseph is the second most powerful person in Egypt) 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
About 22 years after his brothers sold him into slavery, when Joseph spoke to them again and looked back on his life, he could say—because he was a child of the Lord and knew that God had used him to save millions of lives:
GEN 45:4–5
4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
After Jacob’s death, Joseph’s brothers were very afraid. Because they, who had treated him so badly, were now completely in his power, since he was the second most powerful man in Egypt.
But Joseph reassured his brothers again and pointed out to them that GOD had even made the evil wrong they had done to him work out for good.
GEN 50:19-21
19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Just think—
If Joseph had given in to temptation, one of the following would likely have happened to him in his temporary life here on earth:
He might have died of old age as a slave. Or the woman might have grown tired of him and made some kind of plan to get rid of him. Because it was not love—it was simply lust. That is why she wanted him to sleep with her.
What would not have happened?
He would not have interpreted the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer, nor Pharaoh’s dream—and therefore would not have become what he ultimately became, nor helped save the world during a famine.
When I look at Joseph’s life, in light of what you have read above, I want to exclaim:
“What a wonderful God’s cake!
Greetings,
Sakkie