Poor Jacob. He thought he would never see two of his sons again, and he was afraid he would lose a third. He cried, "All these things are against me" (Gen. 42:36).

Jacob's sons had sold their younger brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Now, 20 years later, a severe famine had forced them to go there to buy grain. Joseph, who had become Pharaoh's officer in charge of Egypt's food supply, immediately recognized them, but they didn't know him. So Joseph tested them to find out if they had changed for the better. Speaking through an interpreter, he treated them harshly. He took Simeon hostage and had their money put into their sacks of grain to make them look like thieves. The brothers were afraid and bewildered.

No wonder Jacob believed that everything was against him. But he was wrong! These circumstances were merely part of a series of events that would not only return Simeon to Jacob but would also reunite him with Joseph, who he thought had died 20 years earlier.

Do you sometimes feel like crying, "All these things are against me"? Read Genesis 45 and see what God did for Jacob. Let his story strengthen your faith in the One who works all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28).  — Herbert Vander Lugt