Joseph has always been a favorite character in the Bible for me – when I was growing up, I loved his story – so colorful – so interesting. But many years have passed since I was a kid, and most of them spent in a wheelchair because of quadriplegia… and now, there’s a very different reason I so love the story of Joseph. Oh, sure, there is a parallel between his story being in prison and me so-called “confined” to this wheelchair. But I'm thinking of something beyond that. Maybe in the beginning, Joseph’s story resonated with me because of my wheelchair. But not now, there is a different reason why I love his life.
And Genesis 41, starting with verse 50, it explains what it is. We pick up the story long after Joseph has reunited with his family… long after those awful days in that Egyptian prison, or those sad times when he and his brothers didn’t get along. Genesis 41 describes that time in Joseph’s life when he (when he was older) could look back and see God's hand in it all. Prison was a thing of the past. His days of hardship were well behind him, and he had a chance to sit back, look at his own children at his feet, and reflect a little on all that God had brought him through.
And so, as it goes in Genesis 41, beginning with the 50th verse where it says, “Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, ‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble...’ The second son he named Ephraim and said, ‘It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’”
O boy, you know, if I had half a mind, I would name one wheel on my wheelchair Manasseh, and the other I would name Ephraim, because no longer do I look at my wheelchair as a prison. Those dark days of suicidal despair when I was first injured are well behind me and, of late, I’ve had the chance to sit back and reflect a little on all that God has brought me through.
And you know what? I can hardly recall – I can hardly remember what that felt like. Oh, I'm not saying this wheelchair is easy; I'm just saying that God has made me forget all my trouble. It’s like it was another lifetime ago. What’s more… the plus side of it is… God has given me the privilege of being fruitful in the land of my suffering. Yes, there is endurance and perseverance – all of it from the hand of the Lord – those qualities are wonderful fruit in my life; and, I can see the fruit of my labors, too. I can sit in this wheelchair and see how God is using me to encourage other people along the way.
Yep, I like the story of Joseph… especially the latter end about Manasseh and Ephraim. And here’s praying he will help you to be fruitful in the land of your suffering, too!
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends