“And they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty,
without any water in it.”Genesis 37:24
Joseph didn’t fall into the pit. He was thrown.
By his brothers. By his own family. His coat was stripped, his voice ignored, and his body discarded like he didn’t matter. And in the moment, it seemed like the end of his story.
But it was only the beginning of God’s.
The pit was real. It was unjust. It was traumatic. But it was also *part of the plan*. God didn’t cause the hatred in his brothers’ hearts, but He did allow the pit to become the first visible thread of a much bigger miracle—one that would feed nations, preserve Israel, and point forward to the coming Christ.
Joseph had no idea how God would use this. That’s the truth for most of us in our own pit seasons. You can’t see providence when you’re looking at dirt walls. You can’t hear destiny when betrayal is echoing louder. All you know is you’ve been dropped, hard.
But God was already moving.
Even before Joseph was lifted from the pit, God was setting the stage. The Ishmaelites were on their way. The famine was coming. Pharaoh would soon need a dream interpreter. And the God who sees the end from the beginning was already weaving what Joseph couldn\’t imagine.
That’s how God works.
Your pit may feel like punishment or abandonment. But it could be the very place where your redemptive story begins. The silence doesn’t mean He isn’t moving. The darkness doesn’t mean He isn’t near. And the injustice doesn’t mean He’s left you.
The pit is never the last word in God’s vocabulary. It’s a thread. A rough one, yes—but essential to the masterpiece.
Cross-References:
- Psalm 40:2 — “He brought me up out of the pit of destruction…
and set my feet upon a rock.”
- Romans 8:18 — “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed…”
- Isaiah 46:10 — “Declaring the end from the beginning… saying, ‘My purpose will be established…’”
Questions for Reflection:
1. Have you ever been in a pit that—only later—you realized God used to redirect your life?
2. How might the pit you’re in now be part of a larger story God is telling?
3. What does it mean to trust God not just to rescue you from the pit, but to use it?
Prayer Prompt:
Lord, You see the pits I’ve fallen into—or been thrown into—and You don’t waste them. Help me trust You when I can’t see a way out. Show me that the pit is not the end, but a place where Your purpose can begin.
This devotional is excerpted from Threads of the Miraculous by D.C. Robertsson.
