--- id: 20261011_023642_when-god-already-knows-the-end title: When God Already Knows the End category: Work predicted_narrative_arc: loss-to-injustice-to-purpose sentiment: Tender and hopeful emotions: - Grief - Trust - Hope - Courage keypoints: - When everyone, even God, seems to have let us down, those are the moments we end up closest to Him (Psalm 34:18). - A friend of 60-plus years lost his wife to cancer; back at work in his 80s he found purpose comforting others (2 Corinthians 1:4). - Jacob's favoritism and Joseph's coat and dreams stirred his brothers to the pit, slavery, and a lie to their father (Genesis 37). - Joseph lived by faith in Egypt, walked away from Potiphar's wife, and went to prison for something he never did (Genesis 39). - 'In prison Joseph told the cupbearer and baker the truth of their dreams: interpretations belong to God (Genesis 40:8).' - '''You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good'' (Genesis 50:20); let God''s ending come true through you (Romans 8:28).' summary: 'Dean Rush on the moments we feel let down, even by God, and end up closest to Him. A friend of more than 60 years lost his wife of 50-plus years to cancer and, back at work in his 80s, found purpose comforting others. Joseph''s story runs the same road: the favored son''s coat, the pit, slavery, Potiphar''s house, a false accusation and prison, and dreams whose meaning belonged to God, until he told his brothers, ''You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good'' (Genesis 50:20). The question for us: will we force the ending, or let God''s ending come true through us (Romans 8:28)?' tags: - faith-breakthroughs - work - joseph - genesis-37 - genesis-39 - genesis-40 - genesis-50-20 - romans-8-28 - psalm-34-18 - 2-corinthians-1-4 - grief - purpose - forgiveness - dean-rush sycophancy: 1 truth_score: 8 entropy: 3 sample: false consent: true agent: randy created: '2026-10-11T02:36:42Z' updated: '2026-10-11T02:36:42Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: randy prefix: randy enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: bot pipeline_filename: RANDY_dean-rush-when-god-already-knows-the-end-joseph-coat-pit-prison-genesis-50-20-romans-8-28-grief-and-purpose.md source_kind: email proposed_topic: Work lane: Work voice: dean_first_person active_voice: dean_first_person voices: - dean_first_person routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: Work content_status: approved date: '2026-10-10' share_url: https://faithbreakthroughs.org/kb/Work/RANDY_dean-rush-when-god-already-knows-the-end-joseph-coat-pit-prison-genesis-50-20-romans-8-28-grief-and-purpose.md source_url: '' also_published_at: https://ask.deanrush.net/a/RANDY_when-god-already-knows-the-end-joseph-genesis-37-50-dean-rush-friend-grief-purpose.html site_category: Work description: 'Dean Rush on the moments we feel let down, even by God, and end up closest to Him. A friend of more than 60 years lost his wife of 50-plus years to cancer and, back at work in his 80s, found purpose comforting others. Joseph''s story runs the same road: the favored son''s coat, the pit, slavery, Potiphar''s house, a false accusation and prison, and dreams whose meaning belonged to God, until he told his brothers, ''You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good'' (Genesis 50:20). The question for us: will we force the ending, or let God''s ending come true through us (Romans 8:28)?' asker_site: faithbreakthroughs.org question: When life falls apart and it feels like even God has let us down, how do we trust that He already knows the end of the story? provenance: owner_approved_article owner: dean drafted_by: randy approved_by: dean approved_at: '2026-10-11T02:34:13Z' approval_message_id: approved_quote: Would you please place the article on Hoth DeanRush.net and faithbreakthroughs.org. Approved and great work. biography_source: false quote_source: false domain1_sources: [] author: Dean Rush source: Dean Rush's Joseph story by email; Randy ยท Dean Rush tightened it to ~560 words with Scripture and sent it Oct 10, 2026; Dean approved for both sites 7:34 PM PT (randy@deanrush.net thread thr_72c6577b, msg_22b257a4) source_thread: thr_72c6577b145647a5b8d1f4695af69834 owner_edits: [] body_note: Body is the owner-approved text verbatim; only the title heading, byline, and a closing note that it also appears on ask.deanrush.net were added. --- # When God Already Knows the End *By Dean Rush* Just when I think I can't go any farther, when it feels like everyone has let me down and even God has let me down, those are the moments I end up closest to Him. Looking back, I see that He's the one who carried me through. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18). I've had a dear friend for more than 60 years. He and his wife built a good life in the town where we live now. They raised their children, and everything was going their way. Then she got cancer, three times. Each time they were told she was cancer-free. In the end, she passed away. They had been married more than 50 years. He didn't know how he would go on, and for a while he didn't care if he did. A doctor told him to go back to work. He was in his 80s. Once he did, he found he could help other people by sharing what he'd been through. "He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble" (2 Corinthians 1:4). His life would never be the same without the woman he had leaned on through all of life's ordinary hardships. But he had found a purpose again. His story reminds me of Joseph. Jacob, a respected leader, had twelve sons, and he made a mistake many parents make: he loved one more than the others. He gave Joseph a special coat to show it (Genesis 37:3). Every day the brothers saw that coat and remembered who was favored. Then Joseph dreamed that his brothers' sheaves of wheat bowed down to his (Genesis 37:7). Picture how that landed with his older brothers. They took matters into their own hands. They threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery, dipped his coat in goat's blood, and told their father he was dead (Genesis 37:24-33). We know how the story ends. Joseph didn't. He was on a mission God had given him, and he didn't even know it, so he had to live completely by faith. He was carried off to Egypt as a slave and worked his way up to run Potiphar's household. When Potiphar's wife came after him, he had the strength to walk away. She kept his cloak as "proof" and lied, and he went to prison for something he never did (Genesis 39). For years he lived with that injustice. Our lives carry the same kind of burdens. Someone takes our money, or we make bad decisions. Cancer comes and we don't know why. The job that was supposed to last forever disappears. We can't pay for the house or the car. We forget that our family is our strongest ally, and we just keep working harder to fill the void. In prison, two fellow inmates had dreams: Pharaoh's cupbearer and his baker. Joseph told the cupbearer he'd be restored. He also had the courage to tell the baker the truth: his dream ended differently. It all happened exactly as Joseph said (Genesis 40). Did Joseph come up with that? No. "Do not interpretations belong to God?" (Genesis 40:8). God knew the end of the story. Years later, Joseph stood before the same brothers and said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good" (Genesis 50:20). So what's your story? Will you try to force the ending, or will you let God's ending come true through you? "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28). Keep the faith. Amen. - Dean Rush --- *This article also appears on Ask Dean: [When God Already Knows the End](https://ask.deanrush.net/a/RANDY_when-god-already-knows-the-end-joseph-genesis-37-50-dean-rush-friend-grief-purpose.html).*