Genesis 43:23-27: a reflection

23He said, “Peace be to you. Don’t be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money.” He brought Simeon out to them. 24The man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave their donkeys fodder. 25They prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there. 26When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves down to the earth before him. 27He asked them of their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?”

Joseph's brothers have come back to Egypt, and they are afraid. On their previous journey, they had found that the money they paid for grain had been returned to their sacks, and they dread being accused of theft. But when they nervously try to explain, Joseph's steward reassures them: Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. Instead of the accusation they feared, they are met with kindness and peace.

Notice the reversal of their expectation. The brothers came braced for trouble, expecting to be accused, perhaps arrested; and instead they were met with reassurance, kindness, and a word of peace. What they had dreaded did not come; in its place came grace. And the steward pointed beyond the human kindness to God's hand: your God has given you treasure, hinting that behind the unexpected kindness was God's own providence at work.

That reversal is one we sometimes experience, and always may hope for. We often brace ourselves for trouble, expecting the worst, dreading an outcome; and sometimes we are met, instead, with unexpected kindness and grace, the trouble we feared giving way to a mercy we did not expect. And behind such unexpected kindness, as the steward said, is often God's own hand. When you are bracing for trouble, remember that the outcome is in God's hands, and that he sometimes meets our fears with grace rather than the trouble we expected. Do not let dread consume you; God is able to meet you with peace where you feared trouble, and his providence is at work even in the kindnesses that surprise you. Look for his hand in the grace that meets you unexpectedly.

Lord, Joseph's brothers came back to Egypt braced for accusation over the money in their sacks, but were met instead with kindness and a word of peace: do not be afraid; your God has given you treasure. Speak to me through that reversal. I often brace myself for trouble, expecting the worst, dreading an outcome; and sometimes I am met, instead, with unexpected kindness and grace, the trouble I feared giving way to a mercy I did not expect. And behind such unexpected kindness is often your own hand. When I am bracing for trouble, help me remember that the outcome is in your hands, and that you sometimes meet my fears with grace rather than the trouble I expected. Keep dread from consuming me; you are able to meet me with peace where I feared trouble, and your providence is at work even in the kindnesses that surprise me. Help me look for your hand in the grace that meets me unexpectedly, and trust you with what I fear.