There is a story in the bible about a man named Joseph. Most of us have probably heard the story whether through Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical production or some other form. The story is one of many lessons but – hope especially stands out to me – no matter what your circumstances may be there is always hope for a better tomorrow.
There is one verse in particular that stood out to me as I re-read the story this week;
“But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer.” Genesis 39:21MSG
Joseph had had a tough time; his family shunned his ability to dream of the future and interpret his dreams, his brothers had sold him as a slave in a fit of jealousy, he had been wrongly accused by his master, he ended up in prison and he had been forgotten. I love how it says God reached out in kindness to him I really think this is something we can all learn from. Knowing that no matter how hard life is that there is a God who will reach out in kindness to you, a God that does not forget you. God didn’t fix everything straight away but allowed Joseph’s life to continue to fall apart, or so it seemed. In God’s reality He was causing all the pieces of Joseph’s life to fall into place, ready to launch him into his destiny – a destiny that saved all of Egypt and beyond from a severe famine.
There is more though, why not consider how we can reach out in kindness to others. When they are in their darkest place, when all hope and future seems to be lost. It doesn’t mean that we can fix where they are, or them; but a kind word, a kind action, doing what we can to bring change can have a massive impact on helping people through a difficult season in their lives.
So this week reach out in kindness to someone…
