Acts 7:9-10

"And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him.
And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house."
Acts 7:9-10


God knows what he is doing.  this is abundantly clear in this scripture, and also just in my personal life... and probably in yours too, if you look closely.  God doesn't always do things the way we want him to... but he always does things in a way that will make us the happiest, and challenge us, and that is absolutely fascinating to look forward to.  So, this scripture... consider Joseph.  His brothers hated him, some of hated him so much they wanted to kill him... and they sold him into slavery.  This is only a guess, but I think that he wasn't hoping for that.  It probably wasn't part of his plan for his life.  So, he's this slave, and he makes the best of it.  He is an awesome slave, and gets more and more responsibility, and is like in charge of the whole household.  Even though human ownership is never right, he probably didn't ask for the ridicule and embarrassment of having his clothes ripped off, his employer believing that he did something awful, and being thrown in prison.  I mean, really... who would put that down as a goal in their Franklin planner?  But God took Joseph through becoming a slave and a convict to being vice-Pharaoh. :)  He took him through all of those things not only to teach him, but because God could see the end goal, that Joseph would save the children of Israel this way.
Every once in a while in my life I feel like a slave or a convict... like I am getting the raw end of the deal, and nothing is going my way.  But when I remember that God actually has a plan for me, just as he had for Joseph... and that He knows a lot better than me what is good for me in my life... then I am content (or at least a lot more so). :)  We all have to go through hard things... maybe not slavery and incarceration, but things that are just as hard to bear in our lives.  isolation, betrayal, loss of life, pain, anguish... confusion, misunderstanding.  Joseph went through all of these, and in the end, he was reunited with the father that he loved, and even with his brothers who had hated him.  God knows the end from the beginning.  Things will work out, if we can just trust God and do our best even in our Slave and Convict times.  God is the coolest, and he'll bring you to a good end.  Believe it.