Read Psalm 105:16-22. 16When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, 17he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. 20The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free; 21he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions, 22to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.
There may be no greater type of Christ in the Old Testament than Joseph. Do you remember the story? Rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery in Egypt, falsely accused, imprisoned, but then used by God to save the world from famine, including his own family. Through it all Joseph remained faithful to God and forgiving of his brothers, while teaching them wisdom.
Jesus too was sent ahead of the famine that is yet to come, the time of God’s judgment on the world. He was sent to Earth as its slave, a servant to mankind to take our punishment for sin on the cross. But then, praise God, the King released him, the ruler of all peoples was set free from death’s darkness and the grave’s cruel prison. Now Christ reigns as the Lord of God’s house and the ruler of all God’s possessions. He is head over all things. Every knee will bow in submission to him.
Like Joseph, Christ’s victory came only through total weakness, our salvation came only through his suffering. In Christ what should we expect? The same. This is God’s pattern of salvation: death then resurrection. Prison now, prosperity later. Suffering today, salvation tomorrow.
Union with Christ places your life into this same great pattern of sanctification and redemption. To live is Christ allows us to see the purpose in our weakness, our trial, our temptation. It is not meaningless, it is transforming. Can you see the change occurring in your life?
You: Do you struggle to see the meaning within your trials?
You in Christ: Jesus was “sent ahead” of our judgment. How does our union with Christ spare us from God’s judgment upon Earth?
Christ in you: Where can you see your weaknesses being transformed into Christ’s strength?
Pray: Father, I don’t always love the pattern of your salvation. I don’t love being faced with my weakness and desperation. But I know that because Jesus was sent before me I will be transformed by this process. Amen.
To Live is Christ 