The Apple of God's Eye

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

We skip ahead to Joseph, the favorite son with the technicolor dream coat and the big dreams. Genesis 37 is a brutal reminder that being chosen by God doesn’t mean life is going to be easy. Joseph’s dreams of greatness immediately lead him to a pit and then a slave caravan. There adds weight to the call of God that most prosperity teachers like to ignore. God gives the vision, but the path to the palace often goes through the cistern.

This is the ‘Joseph Cycle’ of the grand narrative. He is a type of Christ, rejected by his brothers, sold for silver, and eventually the savior of the world. His suffering was the very mechanism God used to preserve the line of promise. If you feel like you’ve been thrown in a pit by people you trusted, look closer. God is often doing His deepest work in the dark. Your circumstances are not a commentary on God’s love for you; they are the forge for your character.

Psalm 17 is the cry of the innocent in suffering: ‘Hear me, Lord, my plea is just.’ Like Joseph, we often find ourselves in situations where we are unfairly treated. But notice the Psalmist’s focus is not on revenge, but on seeing God’s face. Joseph eventually sees that what his brothers meant for evil, God meant for good. Don’t let the bitterness of the pit blind you to the sovereignty of the Weaver. He is still working the threads.

Devotional Prompts:

Have you ever felt that a promise from God led you into a season of suffering? How did you handle the cognitive dissonance?
How does seeing Joseph as a type of Christ change the way you view your own hardships?
In Psalm 17, David asks God to keep him as the apple of his eye. How does this identity sustain you when others reject you?

Prayer: God, when the pit is deep and the darkness is thick, remind me that You are still the Weaver of my story. Help me to trust the dream even when the reality looks like defeat. Keep me as the apple of Your eye. Amen.