Newsletters

Unexpected to Expected
(The Forge Newsletter_January 2026)

So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem. (Genesis 37:14) 

Life often surprises us with events we never anticipated. At such times, we may feel anxious, worried, or even fearful. Yet no matter how unexpected these moments are, when we walk with God, everything ultimately unfolds beautifully within His divine plan.
 

1. Unexpectedly sold into slavery, through his father’s plan
Joseph set out alone on a three-day journey to check on his brothers, following his father’s instructions. But upon arrival, he was thrown into a dry pit by his brothers and eventually sold as a slave. Interestingly, he was purchased not by ordinary slave traders but by spice merchants. Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, who came to buy spices, unexpectedly ended up buying Joseph as a slave instead.
 

2. Fleeing into God’s plan and ending up in prison
Joseph gained favour in Potiphar’s household, managing all affairs with integrity. Following God’s guidance, he resisted Potiphar’s wife’s advances and fled—but was caught. Instead of execution, he was unexpectedly imprisoned with the king’s officials. And while he was in prison, he interpreted the dreams of two royal officials, and two years later he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream as well—unexpectedly being appointed prime minister of Egypt.
 

3. Recognising his brothers unexpectedly
Twenty-two years after being sold into slavery, Joseph’s brothers unexpectedly came to Egypt to buy food. Joseph immediately recognized them, but they did not recognize him. While Joseph had changed completely, inside and out, his brothers’ appearances had only changed outwardly—they still carried the same attitudes and character as before.
 

4. Brothers become hostages within Joseph’s plan
The brothers were accused of spying, and Simeon was taken as a hostage. Joseph told them they could buy food again if they brought their youngest brother, Benjamin. Eventually, the brothers convinced Jacob to send Benjamin to Egypt. Simeon was released, and the brothers were treated generously, setting off for home with their food. Unexpectedly, Joseph’s silver cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, and they were all brought back to Joseph. While this seemed absurd to them, it was entirely within Joseph’s plan.
 

5. Nothing Can Escape the Will of God
Joseph’s going to the place where his brothers were was his father’s will, and his being sold into slavery was his brothers’ will. However, from that point on, events moved completely beyond the will of Joseph’s father or his brothers, as God walked with Joseph and everything unfolded within God’s will. In other words, whether he was sold to the spice merchants, sold to Potiphar, imprisoned in the jail where the king’s officials were confined, or appointed as the prime minister of Egypt—all of these events happened within the will of God.
 

6. Unfulfilled personal plans can be a blessing
After Joseph interpreted the dream of the chief cupbearer, he pleaded with him to appeal to Pharaoh and have him brought out of prison. However, his hope was completely shattered. If Joseph had been released from prison according to his own will and returned to his longed-for homeland, his household would have ended in bloodshed. In other words, if he had been discovered first by his brothers, they would have killed him; if he had avoided them and gone first to his father, his father might have killed the brothers.
 

7. God’s plan always prevails
Therefore, we can be thankful that his will was not fulfilled at that time. During the additional two years Joseph spent in the prison where the king’s officials were confined, he would have learned the laws and customs of the royal court and built relationships with the officials who passed through the prison. No matter how unexpected the events in my life may be, not a single thing happens outside God’s will; everything is beautifully accomplished within it. 

If Joseph’s journey had unfolded according to his father’s will, or if Joseph had been released from prison through Pharaoh’s special pardon according to his own desires, he might have lived out his days as a happy shepherd in Canaan—or perhaps met a miserable death at the hands of his brothers. Therefore, even when unexpected things happen in our lives, let us be grateful, knowing that nothing can escape God’s will. If I insist only on my own will, I will end up confined within the narrow world of my own making. Even in bleak and dark circumstances, let us hope in God, expect what He will do, and pray.

[Prayer & Intercession]

1. Unexpected arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife
Something unimaginable for ordinary people happened in the early morning of January 3 in the capital of Venezuela. U.S. special forces abducted the country’s sitting president and his wife while they were asleep and transported them to the United States. This may appear to be the fulfilment of Trump’s will or plan, but could there be a greater purpose behind it?
 

2. Iran’s anti-government protests
After the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, many expected that another war between the two countries would break out soon. However, on December 28, merchants at Tehran’s bazaar began protesting over soaring prices and a collapsing exchange rate, triggering an unexpected wave of anti-government demonstrations. These protests, fuelled by long-standing public resentment toward the Islamic government, spread uncontrollably across the nation, resulting in thousands of deaths before eventually calming down. Was this something that happened by chance, or did it occur within someone’s will? And going forward, under whose will might future events unfold?
 

3. Everything unfolds within God’s plan
When Judah fell to Babylon and people were exiled, they likely saw only despair. Yet God, through Jeremiah, promised a future filled with hope. When they returned to their land, it felt like a dream (Psalm 126:1). 

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.’” (Jeremiah 29:10-11)
 

4. Prayer is the foundation and never fails
Haman plotted to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews, even securing the king’s approval. Yet God’s plan prevailed, and Haman himself was executed on the gallows he had prepared. God’s eternal plans are beyond human imagination and are revealed through those who seek Him through prayer and fasting. 

Could the Jews who were taken captive to Babylon ever have imagined that they would become the ones who shaped and governed that nation? Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Nehemiah, Mordecai, and Esther lost everything and were carried away as captives. Some were even subjected to castration. Yet they did not abandon their faith in God. Instead, in the very lands where they were taken captive, they rose to become the highest leaders—guiding nations and even empires. 

Daniel understood God’s appointed times and prayed with fasting and repentance. Although spiritual powers over Persia hindered the answer to his prayers, God sent the archangel Michael to help him (Daniel 9:2–27; 10:12–13). The prayers that these captives planted in the lands of Babylon and Persia took deep root, and they continue to be at work in history even today.
 

5. History repeats itself
In Genesis chapter 14, we read about a nation called Elam, which is considered an ancestor of modern-day Iran (Persia). Elam, together with the kings of Babylon, Ellasar, and Goiim, conquered five kingdoms in Canaan and captured Lot, Abraham’s nephew. When Abraham heard the news, he took 318 men who had been born and trained in his household, pursued them, and recovered everything that had been taken. As the saying goes, “history repeats itself.” Could it be that something like this is happening even now? 

Until now, Iran’s Islamic government has coordinated attacks against Israel by providing enormous amounts of funding and weapons to its proxy forces—Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria’s Assad regime, and the Houthis in Yemen. Meanwhile, Iran, which has been struggling under economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the United States, has entered into economic and military agreements with Russia, China, and India. Through these back-channel deals, Iran has supplied missiles and drones to Russia and sold crude oil to China and India at discounted prices. However, following a 12-day war with Israel, Iran suffered massive damage, and U.S. airstrikes also damaged its nuclear facilities. Despite this turbulent political and military situation, Iran is reportedly the country where underground churches are growing the fastest among Islamic nations.

“And I will bring the four winds from the four ends of the heavens on Elam, and will scatter them toward all those winds. And there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come. And I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies and before those seeking their life. And I will bring evil on them, the burning of My anger, declares Jehovah. And I will send the sword after them until I have destroyed them. And I will set My throne in Elam, and I will destroy the king and the rulers from there, declares Jehovah. But it shall happen in the latter days; I will bring again the exile(שׁבית) of Elam, declares Jehovah.” (Jeremiah 49:36-39)
 

6. Elam is a treasure hidden by God
In Iran, many people are experiencing Jesus through dreams or visions, and others who have grown disillusioned with the hardline Islamic government are turning away from Islam. It is as if God has established His throne there and is overthrowing the leaders of Islam. God has said that in the last days He will restore the captives of Elam. 

The Hebrew word translated as “exile,” shevīt (שׁבית), can mean “exile,” “prisoners,” or “a former state of prosperity.” If so, could this also be understood as God restoring the former prosperity that once existed in Elam? 

The name Elam (עילם) carries the meanings “hidden,” “distant,” and “eternal.” Its root verb, ʿalam (עלם)’ means “to veil,” “to conceal,” or “to blind.” If this is the case, then the land of Elam (Persia, modern-day Iran) may be like a treasure hidden in a field—now covered by the dark veil of Islam and unable to reveal its true beauty, yet an eternal treasure of God that he has hidden away for his appointed time.
 

7. All history is in God’s hands
Two hundred years before Cyrus, God named him specifically through Isaiah as His chosen shepherd. Through Cyrus, exiled Jews returned to their homeland. What seems unexpected is within God’s plan; He works all things together to fulfil His eternal purposes. 

“He says to Cyrus, ‘You are My shepherd and shall fulfil all My will.’ Even to say to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built.’ and to the temple, ‘You shall be set up.’ So says Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whom I have seized by his right hand, to subdue nations before him. Yea, I will open the loins of kings, to open the two leaved doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before you and make hills level; I will tear apart the bronze doors, and cut the iron bars in two. And I will give you the treasures of darkness, even treasures in secret places, that you may know that I am Jehovah, who calls you by your name, the God of Israel. For My servant Jacob's sake, and for Israel My chosen, I even call you by your name. I name you, but you do not know Me.” (Isaiah 44:28-45:4) 

“That which has been, it is that which shall be. And that which has been done, it is that which will be done. And there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
 

8. This can only be done through prayer and fasting
Last December, God placed it on our hearts as a couple to pray together for 40 days, fasting from breakfast each morning, for the teenagers around us and their families. So beginning on December 26, my wife and I have been fasting every morning and praying together, calling each of their names before God. What we are thankful for is that the more we pray, the more our concern for the children grows, and the more our hearts are filled with love for them.  

People often do not pray because they already think they have the answers and their own methods, and because they do not trust God. But we pray because we already have the answer that Jesus completed on the cross. Even so, spiritual matters are not resolved or driven away without prayer and fasting.  

After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:28–29)

Shalom!

Qday LEE

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