Goshen Wasn’t Canaan—But It Was Still Blessed
Walk the sacred tension between famine and promise. This story reflects what it means to be blessed, even outside the land we longed for.
Sometimes, the land God gives you isn’t the one you dreamed of—but it still overflows with mercy.
There are seasons that don’t look like answers, yet they carry provision just the same. You arrive hungry. Wounded. Weary from hoping. And somehow, what you’re given doesn’t quite match what you imagined—but it lets you breathe again. That is what Goshen was.
Between Famine and Fulfillment
Egypt was never the promised land. It was the place of rescue. Jacob’s family entered Egypt to escape starvation. Goshen, a region within Egypt, was where they were settled—set apart from the rest of the nation, cared for, yet still surrounded by unfamiliar customs and foreign gods.
“Egypt was not Canaan,” Joseph whispered to his sons, “but Goshen—it was holy in its own way.”
He looked out across the fields, green and golden in the morning light. “Here we survived. Here we grew. And here,” he added softly, “God remembered us.”
It wasn’t the covenant fulfilled. But it was the covenant preserved.
Families in the Philippines can relate to this—many have parents or children working far from home, in cities or countries they didn’t choose, doing jobs they never dreamed of. But in those unfamiliar places, provision still comes. Tuition gets paid. Rice fills the pot. Hope, somehow, survives. Goshen moments happen quietly—and they’re real.
When Provision Isn’t the Promise
This is what speaks so deeply to women of faith living in the “in-between.” You’re steady. Still showing up. Raising children. Praying for healing or breakthrough. Sending love across oceans or holding the family together when others can’t.
Goshen reminds us: God’s love doesn’t only show up in Canaan. It shows up in grocery lines, in early morning shifts, in secondhand shoes and quiet kitchens. It shows up in that first bank transfer after payday, or the empty seat at the dinner table that’s full of sacrifice.
Families here understand this. The provision may not look like the promise, but it still sustains. It carries. And sometimes, it even multiplies.
Joseph’s Leadership: Mercy Over Might
Joseph could have chosen revenge. Instead, he chose refuge. Goshen became the place where forgiveness was planted and community took root. It was not the end of the story—but it sustained them.
He had the authority to protect only himself—but he didn’t. He used his position to establish Goshen not just for survival, but for dignity. The brothers who once sold him into slavery now lived under his protection. In doing so, he built legacy.
This echoes the quiet power of bayanihan—the spirit of carrying others, of shared strength. In many Filipino homes, one sibling’s promotion becomes a whole family’s uplift. One daughter abroad builds a house for those back home. Legacy is created not in ease, but in sacrifice. Just like Joseph did.
Goshen in Real Life
So what is your Goshen?
- A job you didn’t want, but need
- A city that’s not your home, but where you’ve been planted
- A season that doesn’t look like promise—but feels like grace
Goshen was where legacy multiplied. And God is still doing that in places that feel temporary. Women—especially those carrying children and communities in silence—know what it is to live in sacred waiting.
In the Philippines, you see it every day. In jeepney rides at dawn. In remittance slips. In prayers whispered over boiling kettles. The in-between becomes holy ground because the people standing there are holding fast in faith.
Final Reflection: Egypt Is Not the End
Goshen was not where the covenant would be fulfilled—but it was where it was protected. The tribes grew there. The blessing expanded. And when the time came, God moved them again.
So if you are in a waiting season—still sowing in a place that isn’t your dream—hear this: You are seen. You are held. You are still part of the promise.
Even if you’re not yet in Canaan, God is still with you in Goshen.
That space, too, can be holy ground.
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About the Author
RR Wekesa is a Christian historical fiction author writing faith-rich novels that follow the ancient paths of Scripture, weaving sacred silence and poetic rhythm into every chapter of The Moses Chronicles.