When Life Feels Unfair: Discovering God's Hidden Plan in Your Struggles

Have you ever wondered if God really has control when everything in your life seems to be falling apart? When family turns against you, when injustice strikes, when you're facing circumstances that feel completely overwhelming?

I want to talk to you about "this little kid named Joseph. He's a grown man now. He's about 30 or so. And, you know, Joseph had an interesting life. He suffered in life, but that suffering was temporary."

Beyond Normal Sibling Rivalry

Joseph's story wasn't just about typical family drama. "I'm not talking about just normal sibling rivalry here. Some of you have had siblings, and you know that sometimes they can be a pain in your backside and you just want to smack them." I remember pushing my sister through the wall one time over a TV channel dispute - "this was the day before remotes" - and we were both terrified of what our dad would do when he got home from work.

But Joseph's situation was far more serious. "This is not just sibling rivalry. I mean, these guys hated him." His brothers despised him so much they were ready to "beat this guy up, leave him for dead." They threw him in a pit, bloodied up his fancy coat, and told their father Jacob that some animal must have killed Joseph.

"It wasn't because God didn't want it to be the end of him." When slave traders came through heading to Egypt, "the brothers made the money" by selling Joseph into slavery. Talk about family dysfunction on steroids.

God's Sovereignty in the Mess

Here's where the story gets powerful. In Genesis 45:3-8, after years of separation and unimaginable hardship, Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers. "Joseph says to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers couldn't answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence."

What Joseph says next will blow your mind: "Don't be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life... God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God."

Did you catch that? "Three different times in that passage... three times, mind you. He says, God sent me. God sent me. God sent me. You guys just licked the stamp. But God sent me."

Recognizing God's Hand in Your Story

"Joseph opened his eyes, his mind, his heart to what God had really done." He wasn't being cocky when he told his brothers they needed him - "he was saying that with all reality." There was a severe famine, and "the only people who had food were the Egyptians. And the only reason the Egyptians had food was because Joseph was able to interpret Pharaoh's dreams."

God had orchestrated everything. The brothers' betrayal, the slavery, even the false accusation from Potiphar's wife that landed Joseph in prison - it was all part of God's sovereign plan to position Joseph as second-in-command in Egypt during the famine.

When Others Mean Evil, God Means Good

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph gives us one of the most powerful truths in all of Scripture: "As for you, you meant evil for me, but God meant it for good. In order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

This connects beautifully with Romans 8:28 - "We know that God works all things together for good to those who love him, to those who are called according to his purpose."

"What others may mean for evil or bad. God has this way of turning that into good. He is not a magician. He is a sovereign God."

Trusting God Through Your Struggles

"So many times in your life and my life, we don't understand until toward the end of life. But we can stand back and look at what God has done in and through us and how those tragedies, how those injustices have come into play to fulfill God's plan for our life and for the lives of other people."

I'll be honest - I still get anxious about things like MRI machines. "Every time I think about that MRI, I'm thinking, man... where's your faith, Richard? Do you really think that God is so small that he can't see?" How ridiculous that I worry about a machine collapsing when "the God who put this world together" is certainly "strong enough to hold this MRI machine."

Putting It Into Practice

As Proverbs 19:21 reminds us, "There are many plans in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel that will stand."

Here's my challenge for you: "Look to see where God's hand has been in your life. Expect that God's going to be working in your life. Go ahead, just take it to the bank. Because God has a plan for you. He's always had a plan for you, even before you were born."

"Some of those things, even the difficult things, even those times of injustice and unfairness, it's all been a part of God wanting you to become a certain person."

We can choose to "complain about suffering, or we can seek ways to serve God through our suffering." When you're in the pit, remember Joseph. When family betrays you, remember that God sent you exactly where you are. When life feels unfair, trust that your sovereign God "has this way of turning that into good."

"You got to be willing to say, God, I'm with you wherever you want me. That's where I want to be."