In Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9)

"So then, it was not you who set me here, but God."

Genesis 45:8

        When we go through trials in life it can be easy to blame our circumstances. "People are evil, life sucks, life isn't fair..." and we hold on to grudges because we blame those people for our hard times.

        However, God is bigger than people. He is bigger than our circumstances. And often, He has us in a place of difficulty for His purposes, not to torture us. Like Joseph... he was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, blamed for something he didn't do, thrown into jail, forgotten about for years... then God lifted him up.* Out of the ashes, out of the rubble. And Joseph was able to recognize that it wasn't his brothers' hatred towards him that got him there, but God's plan for Egypt and the surrounding countries!

"Dear brothers, and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed,  you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

James 1:2-4

*Check out Genesis chapters 37 and 39-41 for the full history of Joseph.