JANUARY 17, 2026

 “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” 

― Maya Angelou

GENESIS 41

33“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

37The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God^a ?”

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”(41:33-40)

MATTHEW 13:1-32

18“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.20The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

JOURNAL 

Joseph just kept on being Joseph. Devoted to God. Humble. Consistent. Steady when nobody was watching and when nothing seemed to be changing. Two full years after the cupbearer forgot him, Pharaoh has a dream that no one can interpret, and suddenly the cupbearer remembers the one man sitting in prison who has the Spirit of God on him.

And then it happens. Joseph gets his chance. He steps into the moment and he doesn’t force it, he doesn’t scramble, he doesn’t perform. He simply speaks what God gives him. Clear. Wise. Unshaken. And in one day, the entire story turns.

To really put that in perspective, it would be like a prisoner becoming President of the United States overnight. It’s not normal. It’s not logical. It doesn’t follow the rules of the world. But that’s exactly the point. God doesn’t operate off of human odds. He operates off of His promises.

What gets me today is how easy it is to read this story and think it’s just an amazing highlight reel. Like Joseph’s life is one big inspirational movie and the ending makes it all feel clean and simple. But I’m sure it wasn’t like that in real time. I’m sure, just as Jesus faced moments of anguish and heartache, Joseph had to have had his as well. There had to be nights where it felt like God was silent. Days where the waiting was heavier than the suffering. Moments where the injustice didn’t make sense and the temptation to quit had to be real.

And yet, Joseph stayed the same. He kept sowing to the Spirit. He kept showing up with integrity. He kept trusting God in the dark. Not because he could see the ending, but because somewhere deep down he believed God was still writing it.

That’s where I start to realize something about my own life too. We miss so much of the miraculous around us. We miss the rebirths. We miss the resurrections. We miss the slow and holy work of God because we’re trained to only notice miracles when they look dramatic or obvious. We think a miracle has to be loud. Instant. Unexplainable. But so often God’s miracles are quiet and hidden inside the ordinary.

A heart softening after years of bitterness.
A man choosing truth when he’s spent his whole life hiding.
A marriage still standing when it had every reason to collapse.
A person still praying when it feels like their prayers are bouncing off the ceiling.
A kid deciding to forgive.
A woman deciding to get up again.
A soul coming back to life one small decision at a time.

Those are resurrections too. And I wonder how many times I’ve been standing right next to one and didn’t even recognize it. I wonder how many miracles are happening in people’s lives that I’ve chalked up to “they’re doing better” or “time healed it” when the truth is God was working the whole time. God was rebuilding something I couldn’t see.

Joseph’s story is not just redemption. It’s resurrection. It’s proof that God can take what looks dead, buried, forgotten, and finished and bring it back to life with purpose. Joseph didn’t claw his way out. God raised him up. God redeemed what evil meant for destruction and turned it into salvation.

And that’s why Joseph’s story parallels Jesus so powerfully. Joseph goes from the pit to the palace and becomes the one who saves others from famine. Jesus goes from the cross to the throne and becomes the One who saves us all through forgiveness. Both stories remind me that God is not just restoring circumstances. He is restoring people. He is bringing the dead back to life.

Matthew talks about the seed and the soil, and Joseph is the picture of good soil. The seed went deep. It took root. It produced fruit. Not because life was easy, but because his faith had depth.

And Galatians ties it all together. We reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh, we reap destruction. If we sow to the Spirit, we reap life. And the line that keeps echoing for me is this: let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Maybe that’s the miracle I need to see today. Not just Joseph’s redemption, but the fact that God is still doing that same kind of work all around me. In me. In others. Even when it looks like nothing is happening.

Joseph didn’t give up. God didn’t forget. And redemption came right on time.

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

GALATIANS 6:7-9