Other than Jesus, who is your favorite Bible character and why? Chances are the answer to that question may change depending on your current situation. One of the wonderful gifts God has given us in the Scriptures is the sharing of the stories of so many men and women of God.

Consider the story of Joseph as recorded in Genesis. His brothers ridiculed him as “The Dreamer,” because he shared dreams that implied he would be honored by all of them. They were already upset with Joseph because their father Jacob obviously favored him as was made evident by the gift of the ornate coat. One might say Joseph was not particularly prudent in sharing his dreams out loud, but that does not excuse his brothers for selling him into slavery. While in Egypt, Joseph remained faithful to the Lord, not giving into the advances of Potiphar’s wife. And even though he ended up in prison unjustly, even there he continued to prove himself a faithful servant for over two years. As you recall, after interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams, he was put in charge of preparing for an eventual famine which put him in a position where, several years later, he met his brothers who came for food and didn’t recognize Joseph.

If you were Joseph, what would you do with the brothers? What a marvelous example we have in Joseph who did not take the opportunity for revenge, but instead offered forgiveness. Do you remember his words to them? “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.” (Genesis 50:19–20) The saving of many lives was not just the people of Israel, but also you and me, for it would be through those people that Jesus would come as our Savior.

This weekend, as we celebrate All Saints’ and think of the faithful witnesses who have gone before us and are now enjoying the joy of heaven, we can think of how they, like Joseph, remained faithful to our Lord even in the midst of some challenging situations. How did they do that? The same way we can as we hold on to the truth of our verse for the week: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.” (Isaiah 26:3) And what is the end result? Heaven! The evil one may come and bring serious problems here on this earth, but he cannot rob us of the inheritance we have through faith in Jesus. And how good it will be to be there worshiping our Lord along with all those great people of faith we read about in the Scriptures, and all those we personally know who have gone before us.

You may wish to prepare for this weekend’s worship by reading

Isaiah 26:1–4, 8-9a

1 John 3:1-3

Matthew 5:1-12

Acts 24-26