Let us stop here and think of the lessons that we can learn from this passage. When Jacob sent his beloved son Joseph to his brothers, he was assuming that Joseph would return in a day or two with a report. He did not know that it would be years before he would see his face again. We are reminded that life is one of change and uncertainty. We never know when we say goodbye to our loved ones if that will be the last time we see them. When we all depart from here today, someone may not return. We should have our hearts prepared not to go to the grave in mourning but with the understanding that each moment together is a gift from God, undeserved and unguaranteed. We are also reminded of how uncertain our own plans and day can be. We all get into ruts. We have our daily routines. Most days begin to resemble each other and we get lulled into this idea that change won’t happen. When Joseph left that morning to go find his brothers little did he know he would never return to the tents of his father. He had no idea what awaited him, the trials and the triumphs, the prison and the palace. James warns us not to boast in our plans because we do not know what tomorrow brings. We should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” We must settle in our minds that we hold our plans in an open hand, happy if the Lord leaves them there or takes them away. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Here is another thought. When many writers and preachers today try to put they’re readers or hearers into this story, who do you think they say they are? We are the Joseph character. People have done us wrong but God has a plan to bless us. Which is true to a certain extent. But many writers of old would remind us that we often act like the brothers in the story. We are often heartless though our brothers are crying for mercy around us we sit down to eat. We must learn as much from the example of the brothers on how not to live and respond. We are responsible for how we act. We do not presume upon God’s providence. God will make everything work together for our good but that does not give us a license to sin. If anything, as we see the hand of God at work and his plan unfolding we should be driven to love God and obey him more and more. JR Miller said, “Few truths are more sustaining to Christian faith than this—that our times are in God’s hands. We forget it too often and sometimes we fret when life brings hard things to endure, when our own plans are broken. But someday we shall see that God knows best.”