You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless and it won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime, don’t be foolish or naive. But don’t despair either. With God’s help, you will get through this.
Max Lucado
All of us have experienced a storm. A time where the world seems to be falling apart around us; our luck has run out; our lives put on hold and we don’t know how to move forward. We get stuck. Stuck in a place of “stinkin’ thinkin.” Stuck in a place of despair.
Max reassures us in his book “You will get Through This” that no matter how bad the circumstance seems, God will get you through it. Your job is to not be foolish. How do we “not be foolish?” We TRUST that God has a plan.
In Genesis, all was going well for Joseph. He was adored by his father. He had a new beautiful piece in his wardrobe. And then he dreamed. He shared this dream with his family and his brothers took him as a threat and tossed him into a pit (Genesis 37: 23-25).
The pit was dark, hopeless and there was fear of the unknown. Sounds alot like pits we have experienced. Do you relate to Joseph? We can feel stuck, trapped and wonder if we can ever get out of the pit we landed in. Joseph certainly didn’t have warm fuzzies sitting in that dark pit.
Joseph listened as his brothers plotted to kill him. That would send a chill down your spine and a deep ache in your heart. Then he listened to his brothers negotiate a price as they sold him into slavery. Slavery probably sounded better than death, but still, I’m sure fear of the unknown future gripped Joseph’s soul as he trudged his way to Egypt in chains.
Bitterness never staked its claim. Anger never metastized into hatred. His heart never hardened and his resolve never vanished.
Max Lucado
His brothers meant harm to Joseph. Knowing this, how did Joseph not become bitter or angry toward them and his situation?
He trusted in God’s ultimate plan for him.
He believed God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20) and that God would use this struggle to bring Him glory. And Joseph was willing to do whatever necessary to bring God the glory.
I recently finished the book “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom. It is the incredible true story of a christian woman who, along with several of her family members, were taken to a Nazi concentration camp during WWII because they chose to help the Jews, hiding them away from the Nazis. As she describes the concentration camp and what she endured, it sounds like Hell itself. I cannot even fathom how humans can be so cruel. But what did Corrie and her sister Betsie do in this unbearable situation? They clung to the word of God, shared the gospel with many and viewed the concentration camp as a mission field that would ultimately glorify God.
Does God guarantee the absence of struggle? No, but He does pledge to reweave our pain for a higher purpose.
Max Lucado
Whatever your “walk to Egypt” may be, God is still on the thrown and that fact will never change. Satan may try to manipulate you, but “don’t be foolish” and allow him to taint your heart. Allow God to work in you.
Remember:
- You are CHOSEN. (John 15:16) You are valuable to God.
- Your struggle will not last forever, but you will because you have been promised eternal life (John 3:16)
- God can and will deliver you just as He delivered Daniel from the lions den, Peter from prison, Thomas from doubt, Jonah from the belly of a whale, David from Goliath and Lazarus from the grave.
The same God that reached in the pit to rescue Joseph will reach out and rescue you too.
Max Lucado
What about Joseph’s experience or character inspires you to trust God in difficult times?
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