Amazing how the old becomes new again

We are going to be studying an old, familiar story for the next few weeks. The story of the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob.
It's so familiar. We know it pretty much by heart, right? Does it seem kind of ho-hum? I'd like to hope that we are soon going to be more excited about his story -- even though we know how the story ends!

I know that no matter how hard we try, it's hard to read and study this as the amazing (and unpredictable) adventure that it was to Joseph, as he lived it. Since we know the ending, it's hard to say, "Wow, that was unexpected!"
But you see, Joseph had no clue.
When he was a teen, tending the flocks with his jealous brothers, he had no idea how much trouble his beautiful many-colored coat, the gift from his doting father, would cause for him.
When he was in the dusty, dirty pit where they threw him, he had no clue that they would sell him into slavery.
Imagine listening to the negotiations going on above you, and realizing that your siblings were selling you as a slave!
How much did he know about his future when he was sold into the household of Potiphar? Not one thing.
Did he have a view into his future when Potiphar's wife accused him falsely? Nope. Just knew he was innocent!
And what about the lengthy imprisonment? Did he know what was going to happen next? No, he was asking others to intercede for him when they got out.
When he did gain his freedom, did he know God's purposes for elevating him to the prime minister's job in Egypt? He didn't see it all.....not until his family came to him for help.

How much do we know for certain about our own futures? What do we know for sure about the coming week? We know what our plans are, but those can change. We have errands to run, people to see, events or classes to attend, bills to pay, and decisions that must be made. But all of those are relying on circumstances that are actually beyond our control.
Life is short.
Life is fragile.
Nobody but God knows what tomorrow may bring. I've heard it said that "life can change with one phone call." And it's true.
I think we will get more out of Joseph's story, and it will be more engaging, if we read it the way that he lived it. If we read it with no clear idea of the outcome, and don't pay attention to the "happy ending" that we know is up ahead.... just read it like we live our lives: one day at a time.

Then we are going to see that God, not Joseph, is the hero here. I mean, Joseph tells us this when he says to his brothers, "God meant it for good." But it's so easy to forget as we read through all the ups and downs of Joseph's experiences (and as we live through the ups and downs of our own lives!) that the hand of God is working through each event and each utterance of the people, to produce the result that God has planned. Joseph couldn't see it till he arrived at the end. And we can't see it in our lives, yet, either.
I'm hoping that as we study, we will come face to face with a new appreciation of God's providence over all things. And that this appreciation will serve to help us in our daily lives.