We shouldn’t read past verse 1 too quickly. Instead, we should sit with it for a few minutes and consider how this affected Joseph. He was a 17-year-old pampered boy; because of his brothers’ betrayal, he was made a slave, and was now all alone in a foreign land. We need to appreciate the loneliness Joseph probably felt. When we do, we can see the beauty of verse 2: “The Lord was with Joseph.”

We all feel alone at different times, but the amazing promise of Scripture is that followers of Christ are never alone (Matthew 28:20). We may feel as Joseph did because we are also away from our family. But the truth is that we are not alone: God is with us. We may relate to Joseph because those we care about – those whom we thought loved us – betrayed us and wounded us deeply. But God is with us. We may feel as Joseph did because we cannot relate to anyone around us. But God still is with us.

• How has the promise that God is with you comforted you through times of loneliness?