The Mustard Seed Mill

Many of us know the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. We know how Joseph was nearly killed by his brothers and instead sold into slavery. Twice.

We know how he prospered in the house of Potiphar. We know about Potiphar’s wife and how she framed him for a sin he did not commit. We’ve seen how Joseph was imprisoned, then shown favor, but then forgotten. He was brought out of prison and then in charge of Pharaoh’s kingdom.

The story of Joseph has so many twists and turns. It is interesting to me not only because of the details of the story, but for how much real estate this story takes up overall in the bible. The story of Joseph spans 13 chapters in the book of Genesis. There is no hurry made in the telling of the life of Joseph. I think that’s something in and of itself to take note of.

One particular part of the story of Joseph that stood out to me recently was that amidst all that was detailed, there was one part that was not detailed at all, but that I believe plays a significant role in this story. For me, that is Joseph’s time in the well.

Out of jealousy, Joseph’s brothers had a plan to kill him, but one brother steps in with an unspoken plan to try and save him. So, they threw him into the well alive. Nothing is said about Joseph’s condition in the well, so that leaves us with only questions about what that might have been like.

A Google search tells me that Joseph’s well (or pit) was at least 30 feet deep. Genesis tells us that there was no water in the well. But what of Joseph’s condition? Did Joseph feel abandoned and alone in the well? Did he carry with him the same assurance that he had when he detailed his dreams to his brothers? Was Joseph wondering if God had abandoned him? Did He question what God had told him? Had he even heard from God?

Could Joseph hear the plots of his brothers above ground? Were there other enemies with him in the well? Snakes, scorpions, spiders… Was he more fearful of staying in the well or getting out of the well? Did he try to call out to someone? Could he even be heard from the well?

Where was God while Joseph was in that well? That’s the question, right? We can all look at times in our lives and identify with Joseph’s time in the well, can’t we? Maybe we’ve been there more than once. Maybe now is that time.

We don’t see immediately in the course of this story where God is, but we do see much later in Genesis where Joseph clearly sees God in the midst of his story.

There comes a time when Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt in search of food because of the famine. They come under submission to none other than their very own brother, Joseph. Joseph wrestles with his emotions about seeing his brothers again, but finally makes a bold declaration. Joseph says in Genesis 45:5 “do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” Then in Genesis 45:7-8 “but God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Joseph recognized that his brothers had no power over him. God had allowed their actions in order to ordain something powerful in Joseph’s life. He goes on to tell them in Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Romans 8:28 reminds us that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We have the luxury of seeing Joseph’s story in the past tense. He did not. He had to flesh out his story as he endured injustice after injustice. This is true of our story. We don’t have the luxury of seeing ahead of time what God is working out. We often only see what is happening to us or around us at the time. We may only feel how Joseph felt in that well.

But, we do have the testimony of Joseph. And, if we are being honest, we likely have the testimony of how God has pulled us out of one or more wells already; wells we were put in by others or wells of our own making.

While we many not have answers to all the questions about Joseph in the well, we do know that God can hear us in our well. Who we are in the well is not determined by the well, but it is determined by God. Joseph still had a calling. He had an identity that surpassed the well around him. God used that well as a launching pad for the great things he would later do.

Psalm 23:6 says that surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. When I reflect on this scripture, I wonder why it says that goodness and mercy will follow us and not go ahead of us. I’ve come to think that this is because we often don’t see the goodness and mercy of God without looking back to see it.

Joseph was able to look back on his life and see God’s goodness and mercy. I want to challenge you to do the same. Let us call out to God even while we are the bottom of our well. Let us remember that our identity is unchanging regardless of the existence of the well.

God sees you. He sees your well. The well is not our destination, but, if submitted to God, it can be a launching pad to something God is doing beyond our imagination.