A couple of weeks ago, my family made quick trip up to Terre Haute, Indiana to see my oldest son. It’s an 11 hour drive, and we usually break it up by stopping over about halfway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And that’s what we did on the way up, but on the way back, we didn’t have time for an overnight stop in Bowling Green. We had do all 11 hours from Terre Haute to Collinsville in one day. It was a long journey home, and we were all elated when we pulled into the driveway. There is great joy when long journeys come to an end.

And great joy is what should arise in us as we read about Joseph’s long journey coming to an end. Genesis 50 closes Joseph’s long, prosperous, remarkable life with his death there in Egypt. But that wasn’t the end of his journey. You see, before he died, in one final act of faith. Joseph gave one last instruction: “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” He made them swear they’d do it. And then he died at 110-years-old.

Through all those years and many miles, Joseph never forgot God’s promise to his great-grandfather Abraham about the land of Canaan. Though he had thrived in Egypt for decades, his heart remained anchored to God’s covenant. His request wasn’t nostalgia. It was faith that God would fulfill His word.

And God honored that faithfulness spectacularly. Four centuries later, we read in Exodus 13 that Moses remembered Joseph’s oath and carried his bones out of Egypt during the Exodus. And through forty years of wilderness wandering, those bones traveled with Israel. Finally, we read in Joshua 24 that Joshua buried them in Shechem, in the very plot of ground Jacob, Joseph’s father, had purchased.

Joseph’s bones finally made it home. His long journey finally came to an end.

What a picture of God’s faithfulness! He doesn’t forget those who trust Him. Joseph’s body rested in the Promised Land just as God had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Beloved, remember today that your faithfulness to God matters, even when the fulfillment of His promises seems impossibly distant. Like Joseph, we may not see all of God’s promises completed in our lifetime, but He remembers. He honors those who trust Him. Keep believing; keep obeying. God is faithful to bring His people home, in His perfect timing, exactly as He promised.

Change begins in you!