阅读经文 

在阿巴拉契亚山道经过了一个下午疲惫的跋涉后，我在潺潺的小溪边停下来休息，感到精疲力尽。我宛如一直在坐“过山车”，这是弗吉尼亚州山区的一段路，有十段陡峭的上坡和下坡路。

“过山车”的陡峭起伏让我想起了约瑟的经历。年轻时，约瑟聪明活泼，是他父亲众子中的宠儿。然而，这让他的兄弟们嫉妒得发疯。有一天，他的哥哥们开始实施报复，他们合谋把约瑟卖到埃及做奴隶。在那里，我们看到他的起起落落，曾经获得了荣誉，但也因为被指控他没有犯的罪行被误投入监狱。但神与约瑟同在，最终神使他成为埃及的治理者，权位仅次于法老。

后来，约瑟的哥哥们到埃及去买粮，因为迦南有大饥荒，他们就落在约瑟手里，故此害怕他向他们报复。但约瑟已经学会了倚靠神。他看见神在他生命起起伏伏的历程中看顾他，也看见神要藉着他拯救多人。

当我们在生活中正经历起起落落时，我们仍拥有一个安慰，就是在任何环境下，神都与我们同在，熬炼我们并救赎我们，去行祂预备叫我们所行的善。（参弗 2:10）

After a grueling afternoon on the Appalachian Trail, I stopped to rest, exhausted, by a gurgling stream. I’d been hiking the “Roller Coaster,” a section of trail with ten steep ascents and descents in the mountains of Virginia.

The steep rises and plunges of the “Roller Coaster” reminded me of the experience of Joseph. As a young man, Joseph was bright and full of life, the favorite of his father. That drove his brothers crazy with jealousy and envy, however. And one day those brothers took revenge, selling Joseph into slavery in Egypt. There we see him rise and fall, gaining honor but also getting thrown into prison for a wrong he did not commit. But God was with Joseph, and eventually God raised him to become a ruler in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh the king.

Later, when his brothers came to Egypt to buy food because there was a great famine, they found themselves in the hands of Joseph and were afraid he would take revenge on them. But Joseph had learned about depending on God. He saw God’s watchful care in all the ups and downs of his life, and he saw how God had planned to save many lives through him.

As we experience ups and downs in life, we can take comfort that in all circumstances God is with us, redeeming and purifying us for work that he has planned for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).