Where do I fit in?

“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.” – Genesis 45.8

From Dave Atkinson:

What sort of jigsaw puzzler are you? Are you like me, sorting and connecting the edges before starting on the main body? And do you look at the picture on the box cover to help work out where each bit fits in?!

In your walk with Jesus, do you ever feel like a piece of a jigsaw? You believe that God knows, and is in control of, the whole picture but, because of the circumstances you’re going through, you can’t see how you fit into God’s overall plan. At really dark times, you might feel that you are the lost piece that has fallen down the side of the sofa. I know that I’ve felt like that on occasions.

One of my favourite stories in the Bible is the story of Joseph which you can read in chapters 37-50 of Genesis. Joseph comes from a God-fearing family, but he would be forgiven for doubting that he was part of God’s overall plan due to the events he experienced: mistreated by his brothers; sold into slavery in Egypt; becoming a trusted attendant to his Egyptian master Potiphar, only to be falsely accused of trying to rape Potiphar’s wife; and being imprisoned.

But later, Joseph becomes the King of Egypt’s (Pharoah) right hand man. By the end of chapter 41, Joseph’s influence and power has grown to such an extent that, “.. all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.”

When we get to today’s verse, Genesis 45.8, Joseph is movingly reunited with his brothers and forgives them for all that happened as a result of their cruelty. Joseph had worked out that God had used all that had happened for good, to ensure that the chosen people of God, and many others, would not die due to starvation. It was not Joseph’s brothers who sent him to Egypt, but God. And, at the end of the story, Genesis 50.20, Joseph emphasizes that, “…God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done…”

One of the things that this story encourages me to remember is that, however I might be feeling about my circumstances, God knows what they are and is watching over me. And he asks me to trust him that he knows how the jigsaw fits together, in his perfect timing and knowledge. God always keeps his promises and he alone knows the whole picture.

If you believe and trust in Jesus as your friend and king, you are part of God’s big picture. You might question at times, “where do I fit in?” but trust and stay close to Jesus because, as Paul confirms in Romans 8.28, “..in all things God works for the good of those who love him..”