Genesis 45

"God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance."

Genesis 45:7

Finally, Joseph can bear it no more, and he reveals himself to his brothers.  He informs them that there are still 5 more years of famine to come, and instructs them to bring their entire households back to Egypt, where he can sustain them.  When Jacob discovers that his son is alive, he is overjoyed and prepares to set out immediately!

Joseph's attitude towards this whole matter is astonishing.  It's obvious that, up until now, he has been a little petulant towards his brothers.  He's been playing with them - concealing his identity from them.  However, he reaches a point where he can't help but ask after his father.  He recognizes that the whole situation in which his brothers sold him as a slave, and all of the imprisonments and servanthood that ensued, were God's way of putting him in position to rescue his family from this famine.

How grand the world would be if we all recognized our hard times as God's way of preparing us for the next portion of our lives!  It's so easy to look back afterwards, as Joseph does here, and see this... but we very rarely see it while it happens.