Life is full of setbacks. Doubtless, you’ve had plenty too, right? Big ones, small ones, as far back as you can remember. Though discouraging at the time, some turned out much better than you’d imagined.

Back in the Old Testament, Joseph (of technicoloured dream coat fame) was the youngest of Jacob’s sons and also his favourite. His brothers were extremely jealous, to the point where they conspired to kill him. In the end, though, they sold him into slavery in Egypt, where he spent years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Setback after setback. And yet, the guy simply put his best foot forward each time, one foot in front of the other. That’s not easy to do after a setback, but if you read Joseph’s story in Genesis, chapters 37 to 50, it’s something that God honoured big time.

Joseph eventually rose to become the Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. At a time of great famine, through a series of events, those very same brothers who’d sold him into slavery stood before him. Joseph literally had the power of life and death over them. Yet this is how he responded:

Genesis 50:20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. (NRSV)

Though betrayed, enslaved, falsely accused and imprisoned, each of these massive setbacks moved Joseph closer to God’s purpose: saving many lives. Because in God’s kingdom, a setback is inevitably a setup for a comeback.

That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.