Trusting

Scripture

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Genesis 50:20 KJV

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Big idea

Summary

Keller retells the story of Joseph — sold into slavery by his own jealous brothers, falsely accused and imprisoned in Egypt, seemingly forgotten for years — as Scripture’s fullest illustration of what he calls “the hidden God.” At no point in the narrative does God speak audibly to Joseph or explain what he is doing; Joseph’s unanswered prayers across years of injustice are not evidence of God’s absence, but of a plan being worked out entirely behind the scenes.

Joseph’s eventual rise in Egypt, and his ability to save his family and many others from famine, only make sense in hindsight, culminating in his declaration to the brothers who betrayed him that they intended evil, but God intended it for good. Keller draws an explicit line from Joseph to Jesus, “the ultimate Joseph,” whose own betrayal and unjust death became the very means of the world’s redemption, and closes by citing pastor John Newton’s pastoral correspondence as evidence that ordinary believers throughout history have found real, sustaining comfort in trusting this same hidden, sovereign hand at work in their own more modest sufferings.

Key points

• Joseph’s story (Genesis 37–50) is Keller’s central biblical illustration of trusting God without understanding his methods or timing.
• God never speaks audibly to Joseph in the narrative; his years of unanswered prayer are not proof of God’s absence but of a hidden plan unfolding.
• Joseph’s declaration to his brothers (“you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”) is the interpretive key to the whole story.
• Keller draws a direct line from Joseph to Jesus as “the ultimate Joseph,” whose betrayal and unjust death became the means of redemption.
• Pastor and hymn-writer John Newton’s letters are cited as historical evidence that ordinary believers have long drawn real comfort from trusting God’s hidden providence.

Illustrations & stories

• The full narrative arc of Joseph: betrayal by his brothers, slavery, false imprisonment, and eventual rise to save Egypt and his family from famine (Genesis 37–50).
• Jesus Christ as “the ultimate Joseph,” betrayed and unjustly killed, yet accomplishing redemption through it.
• John Newton, the former slave-ship captain turned pastor and hymn-writer (“Amazing Grace”), whose pastoral letters encouraged trust in God’s hidden providence.

Notable line

God was hidden, but he was also in complete control.

Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, ch. 13

For reflection and discussion

1. What does Joseph’s story suggest about how to interpret long seasons where God seems silent or absent?
2. How does Joseph’s statement to his brothers (“you meant evil, but God meant it for good”) reshape how you might look back at your own hardest experiences?
3. Why might it matter that Jesus himself is described as “the ultimate Joseph” — betrayed for a greater good he alone could see?
4. John Newton, once a slave-ship captain, later found peace trusting God’s providence. Does anything in his history make his counsel more or less credible to you?
5. What is the difference between trusting God’s character and trusting that you’ll understand his plan?