God Keeps His Promises – Even in the Pit - Treasures of Faith - Week 7 Day 2

TODAY'S TREASURE

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

Hebrews 11:22

Transcript

God Keeps His Promises—Even in the Pit

Chuck and Sharon Betters

Today’s Treasure

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

Hebrews 11:22

God’s providence often unfolds in ways we would never choose. Joseph’s story teaches us that faith does not mean ease or escape, but trust in God’s promises, even when all we see are prison walls or the betrayal of our closest family. Genesis 37 introduces us to Joseph as a favored son, marked by a dream and a robe. But within a few verses, we find him stripped of both, thrown into a pit by jealous brothers, and sold into slavery. If you stopped reading there, you’d think God had abandoned him.

But Scripture reminds us God is never absent. His sovereign hand governs every detail, even pits, prisons, and palaces. The Westminster Confession tells us God "ordains whatsoever comes to pass" (WCF 3.1), and Joseph’s life exemplifies this truth. God wasn’t reacting to Joseph’s pain; He was orchestrating it for His redemptive purposes. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph declares: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…” That’s not resignation. It’s robust, gospel-rooted faith.

What sustains a believer in betrayal, injustice, and waiting? The answer is not in better circumstances, but in the unshakable promises of God. Hebrews 11:22 points us not to Joseph's escape from hardship, but to his faith in God’s covenant faithfulness. As he faced death, Joseph recalled God’s promise to Abraham: God would not leave His people in Egypt forever. Though Joseph was dying in Egypt, he believed his bones would one day rest in the Promised Land.

This is resurrection faith.

Joseph believed God would deliver His people even though he would not live to see it. He ordered his bones to be carried out with them as a prophetic act. His coffin became a symbol of hope. Exodus 13:19 tells us Moses obeyed Joseph’s request, and hundreds of years later, Joshua finally laid those bones to rest in Shechem (Joshua 24:32). A centuries-long journey of bones, fueled by faith in a covenant-keeping God.

This is not blind optimism. It’s rooted in the character of God. Joseph trusted God was faithful, even if His timing seemed long. He knew the lifespans of individuals do not restrict God's promises. God’s redemptive story is intergenerational and eternal. Joseph didn’t need to see the fulfillment to believe it was real.

The world measures success by immediate outcomes. Faith measures it by obedience and trust, even when the results are hidden in God’s providence. In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews highlights Joseph, not for interpreting dreams or ruling Egypt, but for believing in God’s future deliverance. 

As believers, we too are called to live between promise and fulfillment. Like Joseph, we are aliens in Egypt, sojourners in a foreign land. Yet we trust in a coming exodus, not out of Egypt, but out of this broken world into the new heavens and new earth. Joseph’s bones point us to another tomb, an empty one. Jesus, the greater Joseph, was betrayed, unjustly condemned, and buried, but rose victorious. His resurrection is our guarantee that, like Joseph, we too will one day be carried Home.

We may not see the fruit of our prayers or the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lifetime. But our faith is not in outcomes—it is in the Faithful One. God does not forget. He remembers His covenant forever.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Have you found yourself in a pit, unsure if God sees you? Maybe you’ve been betrayed by someone you trusted, or you feel forgotten in your suffering. Remember Joseph. God was not absent in the pit, the prison, or even Egypt. He was preparing Joseph to become a channel of blessing and fulfillment. Your pain is not wasted. God is writing a story far greater than what your eyes can see. Don’t measure God’s faithfulness by your circumstances, measure it by His promises.

Are you willing to live by faith, even if you won’t see the full harvest of your obedience? Keep planting, keep trusting, and rest in the character of a sovereign God who always keeps His word—even when it takes centuries.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for the testimony of Joseph, who trusted Your promises more than his pain. Teach me to live with resurrection faith, to believe You are working even when I cannot see. Help me to rest in Your covenant love and to trust You are faithful in all Your ways. May my life and legacy point others to You, the Promise Keeper.

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Adapted from Treasures of Faith by Chuck and Sharon Betters with permission from P&R Publishing

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