Aneri McGalla
Do you ever feel like you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop?
I think the best example I can give of this is in a relationship. Say you had a massive argument months or years ago, you said you forgave each other, you said you moved past it, but every time there’s a quiet moment, or something little goes wrong, a little voice in the back of your head whispers: are we actually okay, or are we just keeping score?
That is exactly where we find Joseph’s brothers in Genesis 50.
Now, for some context, the brothers have been living under Joseph’s protection for seventeen years now in Egypt. They’ve had the best land, plenty of food, and safety. But there was a fragile anchor holding that peace together: their father, Jacob. As long as Dad was alive, Joseph wouldn’t dare stir up past family drama.
But then, Jacob dies and panic sets in. Look at verse 15: “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
Guilt has a long memory. It’s been decades since they threw Joseph into a pit, stripped him of his coat, and sold him into slavery. Joseph is now the Prime Minister of Egypt. He’s saved the region from starvation. He’s already wept over them and kissed them and forgave them, but the brothers are still trapped in the prison of their own past. They assume Joseph operates the way the rest of the world operates: strictly on the currency of revenge. And now with the peacemaker gone, they assume Joseph will payback their evil in full.
So, what do they do? They resort to old habits. They manipulate. They send a message claiming, “Hey, before Dad died, he told us to tell you to forgive us.” (I personally interpret this part as the brothers lying to protect themselves and many scholars agree as well). Then they come in person, throw themselves on the ground, and say, “We are your slaves.”
They are offering Joseph a transaction. Take us as slaves, just don’t kill us. Do to us what we have done to you.
But listen to how Joseph responds in verse 17. He doesn’t get angry. He doesn’t say “I knew it!”
Joseph weeps.
Why does he cry? I think he cries because it breaks his heart that after seventeen years of unconditional grace, his brothers still don’t know his heart. They see a tyrant waiting for revenge; Joseph sees his family. They are offering him a business deal of slavery, but Joseph wants a relationship of brotherhood.
And then he delivers one of the greatest lines in all of scripture, a phrase that changes how we look at human history and our own pain. He says: “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Notice what Joseph doesn’t do here. He doesn’t minimize their sin. He doesn’t say, “Oh, don’t worry about the whole throwing-me-in-a-pit thing, it was no big deal!” It was a big deal. It was evil. They intended harm. Joseph spent years in slavery, then in jail for a false accusation, then finally after 13 years was promoted to Pharaoh’s second in command.
Joseph doesn’t rewrite the past. Instead, he out-writes it. He acknowledges that human malice is real, but God’s sovereignty is bigger.
He uses the Hebrew word chashab twice here. First, “You intended (plotted/wove) harm.” Second, “But God intended (plotted/wove) it for good.” It’s the image of a tapestry. The brothers were dark, ugly, violent threads. And even though to us those threads might have appeared to be too far gone to save, with Joseph being torn apart from his family by his brother’s hand, being sold into slavery, and then thrown in a pit dungeon, God wove those exact dark threads into a masterpiece of rescue and salvation.
What a profound relief for us today. It means the people who hurt you don’t get the final word in your biography. Think about your life right now. Maybe it’s a manager who makes work miserable, a partner who let you down, or a friend who betrayed your trust. Maybe they intended the harm, or maybe they were just careless. Either way, the pain is real. But Joseph reminds us that God is the ultimate Author. Human beings can design a weapon to break you, but God can redesign that exact same weapon into a tool to shape you.
But Joseph doesn’t stop there. Look at how the passage ends in verse 21. This is where the lesson truly lies.
He says, “So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And the text says he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Church, this is the anatomy of true, godly grace. Joseph doesn’t just say, “I won’t kill you.” That’s low-bar forgiveness. That’s just a ceasefire. Joseph goes a step further: “I will provide for you. I will use my power, my wealth, and my platform to ensure that you and your kids thrive.”
True forgiveness isn’t just the absence of retaliation. It’s the presence of blessing; of making the situation better.
It is looking at the people who disqualified themselves from your life and saying, “I am choosing to speak kindly to you anyway. I am choosing not to weaponize your past against you.”
If you are sitting here today carrying deep anger toward someone, Joseph’s story is an invitation to step out of the judge’s seat. Joseph asked, “Am I in the place of God?” When we hold onto bitterness, we are trying to do God’s job. We are trying to execute vengeance. But when we let it go, we hand the threads back to the Master Weaver.
And if you are sitting here today like the brothers—paralyzed by guilt, waiting for the other shoe to drop, wondering if God is just waiting for the right moment to punish you for that thing you did years ago—listen to Joseph’s words as a shadow of Jesus’s words to you.
God isn’t keeping score. The shoe isn’t going to drop. When Jesus hung on the cross, human beings intended the ultimate harm. But God intended the ultimate good—the saving of many lives.
You don’t have to be a slave to your past anymore. You are invited to the table of God as family.
Amen.
Lexie Simmons
Good morning. My name is Lexie Simmons and I am currently an 11th grader at Salisbury High School. I am also a Youth Deacon and a member of the Youth Advisory Team. The past few years of my life, I’ve experienced several situations of restlessness in my medical condition, Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome. The frequent admissions to St. Luke’s Hospital with the incessant IV fluids and medication regimens, I found myself in fear and uncertainty, as if my prayers were being unanswered. Today’s scripture, Philippians 4:6-13 speaks directly into this experience.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:6-13 (NIV)
In this passage, Paul acknowledges the anxiousness from the people. Specifically of what the future holds for them, impatience for answers, complicated circumstances and discomfort, and the challenge of finding peace within the chaos. He responds to them by telling them to take the messages given by God and apply it to themselves, and there they will find the peace of God within them. I believe this message is important for all people to remember, but particularly students my age who experience the weight of balancing school, extracurricular activities, relationships, as well as their well-being. For me, I first-hand experience this pressure especially in my junior year of high school, balancing AP courses, competition dance, being a representative on my school cheerleading team, volunteering for National Honors Society, and keeping up with other expectations. I use this passage as a reminder that I can rely on prayer and trusting scripture to help me keep in mind that God is with me every step I take, though it may not always feel like it. I especially think this passage would be beneficial for my pathway to college. I want to hang this scripture on my wall as a symbol of God’s endless love for me, and my endless walk in my faith. This passage portrays goodness by showing that there is good in every circumstance, even in the times of anxiety, sorrow, and pain, because God will always provide us strength. This winter, my grandma passed away due to cancer. Initially, I questioned how I would be able to live on with my life, and accomplish milestones without her witnessing them with us. She was considered a fifth member of our family, and one of the biggest ways she shared her love was with her food. One of my favorite dishes she constantly made me was chicken vegetable stir fry. None of the members in my family cook the way that she did, and she always used to joke around with us and ask what we were going to do when she was gone and how we were going to eat. Two days after she passed away, I met my current boyfriend. He just so happened to be an outstanding cook as well, and on one of our first dates he wanted to cook me something, and out of all the foods in the world, he asked me specifically if I wanted him to make me chicken vegetable stir fry. He was not aware of this special connection with this meal, and I believe this was my grandma speaking directly to me with her love language of food.
I shared briefly about my chronic illness previously, and I endured severe anxious feelings throughout my intense episodes. Rewinding to when I was around the age of 8, one of my hospital trips that I took, there was an activity I did where I was given yellow stars as an opportunity to “shoutout” to the people who supported me. While I made certain to credit my doctors for always providing me with the best care, my real support system was my parents. Each hospital trip, no matter what time of night it was, or how inconvenient it was, my dad was always there with me, sleeping uncomfortably in the poorly structured hospital chair beside my bed, snoring very loudly, while I was already having to put up with the beeping of machines and commotion from the floor. My mom was the one who made all the phone calls, fought with doctors to ensure that I got my rescue medication plan no matter what they told her, and would switch nights sleeping over with me in my room. I always knew inside of me that in the midst of these horrific times, God was truly the hero saving me behind the scenes. He was the one laying beside me in that hospital room, the one who advocated for me with my doctors, and responded to my desperate call for help. Looking back on this, if I were given these stars again, God would get the biggest star of them all because he is a fundamental aspect of my life and led me to be the person I am today. I also believe that my pastors, especially Pastor Taylor have had a significant influence on where my faith stands today. He has encouraged me to explore the roots of my faith more deeply and has reminded me that God is present in every moment of struggle, including the overwhelming times when we feel most vulnerable and alone.
We all have factors of stress that exist every day, and experiencing pain is part of everyone’s journey in life, which we fear and sometimes refuse to face. God reminds us that despite every obstacle we encounter, we should be confident in placing our trust in him always because he will never abandon us at any cost. We never withstand any ounce of pain alone, he is accompanying us through every event we face at any time period. As Christians we should look for signs, like the chicken vegetable stir fry, or the snoring in the chair beside us, because these are all representations of God’s love. In this way, we understand the meaning of Philippians 4: God’s peace and presence remain with us, despite the circumstances. Regardless of what we face, God never strands us to carry our burdens alone; he walks beside us, offering his peace, love and strength every step of the way.
Kate Gilchrist
Hi, I’m Kate Gilchrist, I just completed my second term on session and as of Wednesday, I’m a Parkland High School alum.
In our scripture reading from the sermon on the mount, Jesus sees the worry in our lives.
Nevertheless, whether it be handling new duties and responsibilities to others from a promotion at work, or balancing the weight of shaping and supporting the life of a new baby on your shoulders, Jesus says “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink.”
Notice that Jesus does not say if you will eat or drink. It doesn’t take any importance away from the foundation of our needs. There is still value in rising to the expectations of a new job or raising a child right. Instead he tells us not to worry exactly how our needs will be met.
But we all do exactly this. We worry how our needs will be met whenever there is change in our lives. Whether that change is the result of some life changing news or perhaps a seemingly insignificant event, we are all constantly turning new chapters in some way or another. And with new chapters come new worries. And having a plan always seems to be better than not having a plan. My household, like many others, always taught me to pick myself back up immediately after a setback. There was never time to waste; always another competition to win, always another goal to achieve to patch up and brush over an error, so we never had to question, “What happens now?”
When I was little, I never worried. One of my favorite things to do was plan, and plan, and plan some more. This might sound weird to the people who know me. I’m terribly disorganized and can’t remember a birthday or milestone to save my life. It is a wonder I made it this far…clearly only with the help of my family and friends.
But when I was little, I loved planning. To be clear, my plans were more like make-believe. I would make up some character in a story in my head and have every aspect of that character’s life planned out to a T. I’ve recently gone through my desk and rediscovered all the things I wrote down when I was little. I had plans for myself just like these characters in my head. In 1st grade, the plan was to be a Professional Horseback rider for Team Indonesia. By 3rd grade I had worked out all of the details to be a Fashion Tycoon after studying entrepreneurship and fashion at Harvard, and in 7th grade I planned to study at Julliard to be a professional opera singer.
But throughout my life, each one of those goals have been disrupted by either an internal realization, or an external shift. As high school started, these plans and dreams dissipated for the simple focus of worrying about getting into college.
The new dream, the real plan, was to join my brother Tommy at Northwestern.
So, last fall, wearing a vivid purple Northwestern hat on my head with my family crowded around the computer screen ready to cheer loudly, I opened the result that confirmed that I would not attend Northwestern, and I would, in fact, spend the next four years without my big brother.
This was not the plan.
Not only would I be not going to my number 1 university, I would never have the weekly lunches, monthly concerts, or weekend visits to family with my brother. I wouldn’t be the first one to meet the first girl he decides to bring home, and he wouldn’t be there for my first inevitable mistake of life away from family.
Often, we scrutinize the details of our challenges, going to drastic measures to force them to resolve exactly as we envision, and when our plans fail, we are blind to how God has provided for us. Because God’s ways are not for our minds, and thus we must believe that we will be blessed with all that we need.
In that moment, I found it hard to trust in God’s will. I could not see how God already held my future in his hands, and I worried. I worried how I would navigate my impending independence, I worried about how my brother felt, I worried if I would get into college at all. But now with my brother at Northwestern near our grandparents in Chicago and me at UPenn only an hour away from home, my mom always says, “God must have wanted them close to family.”
Worrying is hard, and letting go of past plans is even harder. Comparing what we have to what we could have had is worse than being jealous of others. Jesus says to consider the flowers’ comfort in comparison to Solomon’s extravagant wealth. Despite, or rather because of, Solomon’s massive and unnatural acquisition of wealth, the flowers are still better clothed.
Often, it is our past plans that fill us with envy. Without new plans, we are vulnerable, but no matter what we do to provide for ourselves, we will never be able to give ourselves the same amount of comfort that nature, in its purity and simplicity, receives from God. God cares for us better than we could ever care for ourselves. And our best response when plans fail is to remember this, have faith, and be grateful.
Caroline Grum
A few weeks ago, I turned 18. Exciting right? Big deal. I was like its whatever to me. Sure. Well…Naturally, after a birthday, you’d expect to get asked “So how does it feel?” or “How do you feel?” Or something like that. Well, I like to make a joke out of this. So whenever someone said happy birthday, I would respond with a thank you and follow it with “I just feel so different” saying how I woke up and just knew I was now 18. And that isn’t technically part of the bit because, when you wake up on your birthday,you know it’s your birthday. But the point I try to make is that I feel completely changed from the day before. I even joked with one friend that I already had the looming anxiety of taxes and paying bills and a mortgage and whatnot that comes with adulthood. It’s been a few weeks since then, and I’m already used to answering the question “ How old are you?” with “I’m 18”. Not 17. Nope. 18.
So yeah, I’m an adult, which is still crazy to say, but yeah, I’ve accepted it. But I’m still the same person I was the day before right? “You could ask my parents or my sisters, “Am I really that different from three weeks ago?” Exactly. No. But here’s what happens to all of us: before you know it, you’re 19. And then one more year older, and one more year older and one more older. And eventually, you’re the same age as the rest of the church.
When asked how old you are though,you know the answer. Sometimes right after a birthday, you might stumble on the answer. But you know who you are. It’s a part of you. It just might take a little time to accept it as part of your identity. A part of that is often more responsibility. Maybe that’s your taxes. Maybe that’s focusing on being a good example for younger kids or younger adults. Maybe it’s making sure you’re staying connected with your family or friends.
At this point, you might have started to make a connection to what this has to do with being a Christian and an 18 year old preaching. When asked, you would say “ Yes I’m a Christian”. You know what religion you associate with and what you believe in. But when exploring and finding your faith, you might not know the answer. And here’s the thing, growing up in a Christian family doesn’t automatically mean you fully trust Gods path or have accepted the Trinity. I saw a video not too long ago that said : “Being born in the church and finding God on your own is something that needs to be talked about more.” And I agree. So many people live their life just going through the motions of being a Christian. Whether it’s going to church on Easter and Christmas or it’s going every Sunday. A good amount of people, have been born into Christianity. And a lot of you, have found truth in it and have made it a part of yourself. But it’s not easy. Growing up going to church can make it feel obligatory. Early Sunday mornings, and having to get the entire family out the door and look presentable. As a kid it’s not always the highlight of your week. I sure remember going through that.
But somewhere along the way, when I stopped and thought about it, I realized that I had been talking to God for most of my life. And I had to think, if God isn’t real, then who had I been talking to, and who had been answering my prayers, keeping me company, and guiding me through my life. I realized that true faith isn’t just about showing up on Sundays or going through the motions. It’s about a real relationship with Christ. So much so that you don’t even think it’s weird to literally talk to God.
So when does the change happen? When does a kid stop just going to church and start living through Christ. Change is gradual. And something doesn’t exactly just flip inside us. But I know I’m not the same person I was two years ago. And I’m sure many of you feel that way too. When we start to develop a new part of ourselves, we either continue to enhance it, or drop it. A relationship with Christ is the same.
Here’s what I’ve learned: When you truly accept God and when you open your heart and invite Jesus into your life, something powerful happens. It’s more than just trying to be better or doing good works. It’s about a transformation that surpasses what we can do on our own because it’s rooted in grace. And here’s where the verses from Ephesians come in.
Ephesians 4:22-24 says,”Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” We are called to shed our old, corrupt ways and to be renewed in our minds and hearts. But here’s the thing, renewal isn’t just about trying harder… it’s about trusting in God’s power to transform us. No matter how many times you say you’re 18, you might not really perceive it until you do something like vote, or open a bank account. When we accept Him, we begin to put on a new self. Not because we can do it alone, but because God does it in us.
We know it doesn’t just happen overnight. Like turning a year older, you might only accept it a few weeks after. And that’s when you’ll realize that you feel the change, the satisfaction, and the difference.
And the amazing part? That transformation often happens when you dont expect it. It’s not always a slow, gradual process we control. Sometimes, it’s a sudden realization of how much God has already begun to change us, and how he’s always been with us. It’s like receiving a gift that begins to reshape everything. Our desires shift. Our perspective changes. We start to see the world through His eyes.
He loves us unconditionally. And when you do something about it that makes you truly accept that, it changes everything.So, I want to encourage you today: If you’ve been going through the motions, or if you’re waiting for some kind of “perfect” moment, don’t keep waiting. If you want to live your life through Christ, then use your life to do something through Him. Because once you live out the word of God, you’re finally embracing that part of yourself. That embrace and acceptance begins a renovation that will surpass your expectations. It’s not about trying harder or working to be “good enough.” It’s about surrendering to His grace and trusting that He will do the work in you. Because when you accept Christ, the change happens more than you expect. It’s a beautiful, powerful thing. And it’s ongoing. A journey that never truly ends here on earth but continues as you walk with Him each day. So today, I challenge you: don’t wait. Don’t think you need to have everything figured out first. Just accept Jesus, truly accept Him, and watch how He begins to change you in ways you never thought possible.