In Which I Compare Joseph's life to Romans 8:28

Anyone who follows my blog probably knows about my favorite verse, Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose."
We see this verse played out in the lives of many Bible characters, but the one I'm going to discuss today is Joseph.
He had a pretty good life. Some sibling rivalry, but lots of kids have that. And he had a colorful, handsome coat, which lots of kids didn't have.
Overall, life was pretty smooth - until the day his brothers sold him into slavery and faked his death.
Can you imagine that moment of utter betrayal Joseph must have felt when they threw him into the pit? Can you visualize his confusion, his shock, his sadness?
This was the first "thing," like in the verse, that he experienced.
Then his brothers pulled him out... only to sell him. A second stab of betrayal. The second thing.
The people who bought him made him march to Egypt, where they sold him as a servant to Potiphar's household. He was not only a stranger in a foreign land, he was a slave. Third thing.
This job was okay, until he was framed for sexual assault. He did nothing that even remotely resembled making a move on Potiphar's wife, yet this upstanding woman testified against him, and therefore he was condemned without trial. Fourth thing.
So Joseph was thrown into a filthy, dirty prison. Fifth thing.
Now, lots of other people would give up at that point. Betrayed in the worst way by their own siblings, sold as a slave, then framed and thrown in jail... That seems pretty hopeless to me.
But look at what happened! If he hadn't been thrown in jail, he wouldn't have met the baker and cupbearer and interpreted their dreams. And some time after the cupbearer got out of jail, he told Pharaoh that Joseph could interpret his dream, and then Joseph was made second in command over all of Egypt!
As if that weren't enough of a good thing, Joseph saved the lives of many Egyptians and Canaanites by storing up the food, rationing, and selling it. His family might well have died if he weren't in that position of authority. And then finally, he made up with the brothers who tried to ruin his life.
All things work together for GOOD.
If Joseph hadn't been sold, he would have never made it to Egypt.
If he hadn't been framed, he would never have gone to jail.
If he'd never gone to jail, he wouldn't have met the baker and cupbearer and interpreted their dreams.
If he'd never interpreted those dreams, he never would have been referenced to the Pharaoh and been fetched from jail to interpret the Pharaoh's dream.
If he'd never interpreted the Pharaoh's dream, he never would have been put in charge.
If he'd never been put in charge, he wouldn't have been able to save so many lives.
So you see, all these horrible things that happened to Joseph worked out for good. For his good, his family's good, the whole land's good, and our good as well. He kept His eyes on God and never stopped trusting, even when his life was at its darkest. We need to follow his example and follow the Lord even when we can't see the path.
All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.