This year’s convention had an amazing message. Not only were the speeches excellent; the discussion groups also were meaningful to me. The theme verse, Genesis 50:20, is something that stays in my mind; it is a verse that every Christian, young or old, can look to in hard times. God tried Joseph in a way that we cannot even imagine; but in the end, he meant it unto good. No matter what happened to Joseph, he kept a positive attitude. He trusted that God would take care of him, and he did. As Rev. Holstege pointed out in his speech, we as Christians in the PRC need to always be “Josephs.” Christians will always suffer—being teased for not drinking with the rest of the gang, losing a job opportunity because we will not work on Sunday, or being made fun of for going to church twice every week are some ways in which we suffer. There will always be people that Satan will use to try to force us off the straight and narrow path; we must fight against these temptations. Rev. Holstege stressed the fact that it is difficult to live the way Joseph lived, yet it is possible to fight against the scorn and mockery of the world for the way in which we serve God. We may suffer in this life, but God uses hard times for good.

We don’t have the exact same trials that Joseph went through, but we can always stand strong and trust in God the way he did. Even though trying to explain why you will not go to that party can be hard, the best thing to do is to remember that you will be rewarded by making the right decision. Even though we may never understand why God takes certain people to be with him before we think it is time for them to go, he always has a plan. Trials like this will come up every day; but, if we follow Joseph’s example and keep a positive attitude, we can look back and see how God meant these hardships for good. We will be rewarded in the end when we continue to walk in the light and trust God to take care of us. Joseph too was rewarded greatly in the end! Follow his example, and God will always continue to take care of you.