When you read a book, what gives the story a great ending? It could be a resounding victory, reaching the far-off destination, or maybe it’s that misunderstandings or mysteries are finally fully resolved? There are many ways to tie a bow on a well-written tale, but my personal favorite is when the author brings about a resolution that advances the characters and their circumstances far beyond where they first started in chapter one. When their integrity has been refined, or their relationships healed, or they’re finally removed from the bleak physical circumstances they started in, I am left with the mending emotion of hope. In Genesis, we read about Joseph leading his brothers in the worshipful acknowledgement of how God used their evil intentions to preserve life. A family should love and seek the best for its members, and yet, Joseph’s brothers actively sought out his harm and ultimately sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But through unexpected events and miracles, Joseph was appointed by Pharaoh to be his second-in-command, and in this position prepared Egypt for a seven-year famine. God took the evil that wrecked this family and used it to preserve them. God redeemed the mistreatment of Joseph by his brothers. When we encounter God’s redemption in the Bible or even in our own circumstances, it gives us deposits of
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