As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelite’s coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. — Genesis 37:25

The Torah portion for this week, Vayeishev, which means “and he lived,” is from Genesis 37:1—40:23, and the Haftorah is from Amos 2:6—3:8.

Life has a way of taking us down some very unfamiliar roads. We might end up somewhere we never thought we’d be and we feel like it’s all a big mistake. However, as we learn from this week’s Torah reading, God knows exactly where we are going and precisely where we need to end up. No matter how things may look, God is always on the throne and everything is as it should be.

In this week’s Torah portion, Joseph is sold into slavery. Scripture informs us that the Ishmaelite’s who bought Joseph were transporting good-smelling spices. The Jewish sages explain that usually Ishmaelite caravans contained bad-smelling spices. However, God caused a miracle for Joseph’s sake, and on this particular day, had them transport good-smelling spices instead.

The sages teach that God was sending Joseph a message. We can imagine Joseph’s state of mind as his very own brothers sold him into slavery. He must have been thinking that it was all a terrible mistake. This couldn’t possibly be God’s plan for him! And yet, God sent him a sign. God sent the unusual occurrence of good-smelling spices on a usually unpleasant Ishmaelite caravan in order to reassure Joseph that God was right by his side. As confusing as things seemed, God was still running the show. He knew exactly where Joseph was and precisely where he was going and was letting him know everything would be all right.

Know today that the challenges that we have in our lives are no surprise to God. He’s not sitting up there scratching His head wondering how we got where we are in life. God is orchestrating everything and He knows the plan. Sometimes, if we pay attention, we may just see a sign – an unusual occurrence, a good break, an extra kindness. God is telling us that He is right by our side and that everything will work out right. We are in good hands — God’s hands.