The NIV 365 Day Devotional

God Never Leaves Us

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Genesis 37:25-28

Maybe you know how it feels to watch someone you love, someone you trusted, walk away. Maybe you experienced this type of loss as a child or maybe this happened to you as an adult. No matter when it happened or what the circumstances, experiencing abandonment can leave you with scars on your heart and soul.

Joseph had to deal with complete abandonment by his family. This trial in his life was all part of God’s plan to preserve Joseph’s family from a future drought (see Genesis 45:9–11). It was a painful time for Joseph, but he knew a truth about God: no matter how our human relationships fail us, God has promised to never leave us (see Deuteronomy 31:6).

Taken from Rooted: The NIV Bible for Men.