Genesis 43 -45

"Come closer to me," Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. "I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don't feel badly, don't blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years — neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn't you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt. Genesis 45: 4-8 THE MESSAGE

Immediately upon reading this I thought of Romans 8: 28 & 29: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. . . to become conformed to the image of His Son. I can't read verse 28 without including verse 29 "to be conformed to the image of His Son." I often hear people say it in times of trouble. The Lord does cause all to work together . . . to help us become more like Jesus.

Joseph now has hindsight to see that God had brought him to this very place "to pave the way . . .of deliverance." Over and over, God is giving us a picture of what He is preparing to do through His Son, Jesus -- Our Deliverer!