Even though Joseph had once held the position as his father’s favorite son, Joseph’s circumstances shifted quickly when his brothers sold him into slavery. At that time, no one could have predicted all that God would do to redeem and fill Joseph’s life with blessing, to the point of overflowing into blessing for the same people that had betrayed him most.
I love the contradiction the apostle Paul shows in 1 Corinthians and the way that these verses exemplify how different God’s ways and perspectives are compared with ours. Just like Joseph’s story, our circumstances when God calls us aren’t always flashy or influential by human standards. But God — He always sees the bigger picture. He sees our hearts over our positions, He knows His power is made perfect in our weaknesses, and He fulfills His greater purposes through our pain. No matter what we’re walking through, God’s familiarity with and His presence in our circumstances means that He’ll always make a way through. Even when things look hopeless on the outside, when our hearts feel like they’re failing, and when we’re still waiting for restoration, we can trust that there’s always a “But God…” on the other side of desperation and surrender to Him.