I am Joseph, son of Jacob, and my story is one of betrayal, suffering, and the sovereign hand of God turning evil into good.
From my youth, I was my father's favorite. He gave me a coat of many colors, a sign of honor that stirred jealousy in my brothers' hearts. When I was seventeen, God gave me dreams - dreams of sheaves bowing down, of sun, moon, and stars paying homage to me. In my youthful innocence, I shared these dreams with my family. My brothers' hatred only deepened.
One day, my father sent me to check on my brothers who were tending flocks far from home. When they saw me coming, they conspired to kill me. 'Here comes the dreamer,' they said. 'Let us slay him and throw him into a pit.' Only Reuben's intervention spared my life, though not my freedom. They stripped me of my precious coat, threw me into a pit, and sold me to Midianite merchants for twenty pieces of silver.
I was taken to Egypt and sold as a slave to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Even in slavery, the Lord was with me. Everything I touched prospered. Potiphar put me in charge of his entire household. But false accusations from Potiphar's wife landed me in prison.
In the darkness of that dungeon, I could have despaired. Instead, I continued to trust in the God of my fathers. I interpreted dreams for Pharaoh's butler and baker. The butler promised to remember me but forgot for two full years.
Then Pharaoh had a dream that none of his wise men could interpret. Finally, the butler remembered the Hebrew prisoner. I was brought before Pharaoh, and God gave me the interpretation: seven years of plenty would be followed by seven years of famine. I advised Pharaoh to store grain during the good years.
In a single day, I went from prisoner to prime minister - second only to Pharaoh himself. I was thirty years old. The years of plenty came, and we stored grain in abundance. Then came the famine, severe throughout the known world.
My brothers came to Egypt seeking food. They bowed before me, not recognizing the brother they had sold. My dreams had come true. I tested them, watching for change in their hearts. When I saw their genuine repentance, their care for our father and youngest brother Benjamin, I could hide my identity no longer.
'I am Joseph!' I wept. 'Is my father still alive?' My brothers were terrified, expecting revenge. But I saw the bigger picture.
'Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here,' I told them. 'God sent me before you to preserve life. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive.'
I brought my father and all my family to Egypt, where I could provide for them. What my brothers intended for harm, God wove into a tapestry of redemption. This truth has sustained me through every trial: no pit is too deep, no prison too dark, for God to bring forth His purposes.