Sometimes life feels like it’s shutting down all around us. The government shuts down. Communication with our teen cuts off. Our marriage is at the edge of collapsing. Our health status is degrading. Everywhere we turn, life is shutting down. How do we get through? We can’t logic our way past the problems. Or yell our way out. And we certainly can’t drink our way to an exit ramp.
My good people let’s be honest. Life can be pretty rough, and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Have you read about Joseph in the Bible, do you remember him? Jacob’s son, I mean his son with the coat of many colors and his brothers from different mothers? Those brothers threw him into a pit, and from there he was led to enslavement, then entrapment and then finally into prison. Let me tell you, people will promise only to break it; they will offer you gifts only to take them back. Do I sound familiar?
You know, in all what Joseph passed through, he never gave up. Bitterness never overshadowed him. Anger never metastasized into hatred to take control of him which might result in his heart to be hardened. He not only survived; he thrived. He soar like an eagle. An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. The prison warden placed him over the inmates. And Pharaoh, the highest ruler on the planet, lifted him from the prison to serve as his prime minister. And then he used the authority on his hand for great good. It’s not hyperbole to state that he saved the world from starvation.
What did he know? How did he flourish in the midst of tragedy and difficulty? Joseph knew that in God’s hands intended evil becomes eventual good. He worked a plan and he trusted God. He knew that, with God’s help, he would get through. This is still true today.
To be sure, the times are difficult. Just as Joseph did, we face governmental uncertainty, bandits and unknown gunmen attack, family dysfunction and personal suffering. But just like Joseph, we can trust God to trump evil. It may not be painless, or quick. But God will use this mess for good. Don’t give in to despair.
With God’s help, we shall get through this.
Sir'Ola Williams
