Understand your position

^{Genesis 50:20 NLT You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.}

^{The story of Joseph has been used in various illustrations to demonstrate how God can and will use unpleasant people and situations to get the glory.}

^{Far too often, we get discouraged when things don’t happen the way we think they should. However, it takes wisdom and maturity to seek God and to truly understand that many times, the situations we encounter are not for us, even though they may happen to us.}

^{When God uses uncomfortable and undesirable situations to demonstrate His power in our lives, I believe that we should try to look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on what is happening. We should focus on God and the lesson that He is teaching so that we can share it with those around us.}

^{I really like Joseph’s statement in our key verse today. Here he explains to his brothers that they were simply tools in God’s plan. Even Joseph’s brothers didn’t realize that they were being used by God throughout the entire ordeal. Joseph understood that the fulfillment of the dreams that he was given weren’t for his glory but for God’s glory. Ultimately, Joseph’s position helped save the lives of many people. While in Egypt , he helped to store food for the period of famine and ended up saving the lives of the same brothers who sold him!}

^{Where is God taking you and why? (Remember that where you are in your present and future positions are for God’s glory)}