But God Meant It for Good: Lessons From the Life of Joseph

What will you find in the story of Joseph? Jealousy, deception, injustice, forgiveness, redemption. We read about his dysfunctional family and feel the corkscrew turns of deceit and rivalry. We experience with him a crippling, sudden stop when he is alone and abandoned in a Middle Eastern prison. Then the speed in which he rises to the seat of world power takes the air from our lungs. Through it all, and sometimes in spite of it, God faithfully brings Joseph’s life to its intended destiny.

Ronnie McBrayer’s exploration of Joseph’s story helps readers find themselves in these often overlooked pages of the Old Testament. However, this is not a “how-to” book. There are no keys for successful living or catchy alliterated principles to revolutionize your life. But readers who are trying to make sense of their lives, who are wondering what God is doing in some faraway heaven, or who feel that the chaos of life has little meaning, may discover a clue to what God is doing in their lives.

Ronnie McBrayer is a husband, father, pastor, and writer. He has served in pastoral leadership positions in church, healthcare, and nonprofit settings. Ronnie maintains www.leavingsalem.net, an online catalog of his writings and a resource for those whose journey of Christian faith has taken them outside the traditional church.

His newspaper article series Keeping the Faith is published weekly and was awarded the 2006 Florida Press Association award in religion. Ronnie lives with his wife, Cindy, and their three young sons, Blayze, Bryce, and Braden in the Florida Panhandle.

Endorsements

"Ronnie McBrayer is a gifted writer. He masterfully tells the story of Joseph which is one of the great stories of the Bible. My advice is to get this book and read it. Once you start, you'll have difficulty putting it down. This book is good!"

— Millard Fuller
Founder & President, The Fuller Center for Housing

“McBrayer offers here a powerful retelling of the story of Joseph that weaves scripture, real life experience, history and headlines into a highly readable and engaging narrative. The common human refrain of suffering, mistrust, deceit and pain is resurrected with new insight into the ways in which forgiveness, trust, integrity and hope can emerge out of the most awful of circumstances. This book offers deep spiritual insight into the daily challenges that confront us all, reminding us that there is meaning even in the context of tragedy and pain.”

“Ronnie McBrayer is a masterful storyteller. In a remarkably refreshing way, he brings us the journey of the Old Testament character of Joseph while teaching us about ourselves each step of the way. As he utilizes such seminal sources as Schindler’s List, Hemingway, Shir Lashalom, Charles Swindoll, and his own magnificent grandmother Artie Bearden, he interweaves a cogent,illuminative, congruent masterpiece which sends us on our way stronger, better, and wiser.”