“When Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chief officer, the commander of the royal guard and an Egyptian, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.” – Genesis 39:1 (CEB)
Joseph’s story here opens with a passive verb: he “had been taken down to Egypt.” Sold by his brothers, carried off by traders, handed to a stranger. None of it was his choice.
Sometimes life takes us places we never chose, a diagnosis, a layoff, a loss, a move, and we end up far from the life we planned through no decision of our own. Genesis doesn’t pretend otherwise; it names the displacement plainly. But watch the next verse, because the story is not going to leave Joseph alone in Egypt. What matters most is not only where we’ve been taken, but who goes down there with us. Where has life taken you that you would not have chosen?
God, when I find myself somewhere I never chose, remind me you are already there. Meet me in the place I did not pick. In Jesus’ name, Amen.