God sent me ahead of you ~

can't believe joseph's "all my suffering was for good" attitude.  sheesh.  I can only hope to have such a strong thankfulness for the Lord's plan.

joseph just has bad luck after bad luck.  he was hated by his brothers to the point of them planning to kill him, he was sold into slavery, he was falsely accused of rape, he was sent to prison (literally, a dungeon), his help to officials in high positions was overlooked.  when he finally got out of all those messes, he couldn't forget his trouble and his suffering (41:51&52) and he basically divorced the family who had abandon him.
what a surprise when his brothers showed up because they needed food for their families and didn't know that the ruler they were buying from was the brother they had almost killed so many years ago - and joseph ultimately showed mercy on them.  he tried to punish the men but couldn't.  he broke down.  but in his confession that he was their brother he says, "do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you...to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance." (45:5&7)  he reassures them again in chapter 50 verse 19-21 that he believes that God meant for their sins to happen in order to bring him to help so many people survive the famine.

actually, jacobs blessing pretty much sums it up in very poetic words :)
genesis 49:22-26
joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
with bitterness archers attacked hi; they shot at him with hostility.
but his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of israel,
because of your father's God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
blessings of the breast and womb.
your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than the bounty of the age-old hills.
let all these rest on the head of joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.