"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True..."

                            -Revelation 19:11

My Bible reading this week has found me in Genesis 37-50: the story of Joseph. Ironically, my post on God's faithfulness falls right in the middle of my study of a man who experienced this faithfulness like few others ever have.

At age 17 it looked as if all was going well.  He was frequently receiving visions from God, and his father loved him more than any of his brothers. Obviously this made Jacob's other sons very jealous, and in turn they sold him to a band of Ishmaelites who then proceeded to sell him to the Egyptians. One minute all is going well, the next he is being sold from person to person like a piece of merchandise.

Once established in Egypt,  he once again had a very good and prosperous life. But this also was short-lived and he was thrown in jail due to the lies of a deceitful woman. Yet even through this, "the LORD was with Joseph" (Gen. 39:21), and "that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper", despite his uncertain future and circumstances (Gen. 39:23)(see also Psalm 1:3). After a time in prison, the Lord delivered him and made him one of the most powerful officials in all the land of Egypt, and eventually reunited him and his family.

My point behind all of this is that Joseph experienced his fair share of hardships. He knew what it was like to stand on a mountaintop, but he also knew what it was like to look up at one from the lowest of valleys. Yet through all of these things, the Lord never left his side. In fact,  chapter 39 says four times that God was with him. When he was loved and when he was hated, he was never abandoned by his heavenly Father.

God will never leave us and He will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). When the sun is shining, but also when the rain is pouring, He is there. We may not always feel Him, but we can always trust Him.