A
lot of people in our world today like to complain about the "bad
breaks" that have occurred in their lives. They fret and fume over the
"bad luck" that has befallen them as they have tried to live their
lives without the cumbersome burden of hardships. They think that the trials
that they must face in life just happen rather randomly...through no fault of
their own....POPPYCOCK!!!
If
we are truly honest with ourselves, a lot of life's misfortunes are of our own
doing and of our own choosing! Now, I am not saying that many people choose to
have pain and misfortune dogging them at every step they take in life; however,
most of the time it is our own fault that we find ourselves in dire straits due
to poor choices. But, if we are truly children of the Most High, many times
life deals us a "band hand" because God has ordained a better and
brighter future for us, just the other side of our misery.
For
example, take the life story of Joseph...sold into slavery by his brothers (not his choosing); assigned to work in Potiphar's house and
forced to work as a slave (not his
choosing); seductively pursued by Potiphar's wife and when he refused her
advances, she lies and he is cast into the dungeon (not his choosing); hopefully, you catch my drift.
Why
such pain, hardship and degradation when all this young man was trying to do
was to serve the great God, Jehovah? Was it a run of bad luck or just a
hardship brought on by happenstance? I
think that it was just our mighty, all-knowing God preparing Joseph for his
next assignment as the second-in-command to the Pharaoh...and in this story, I
hope we can all find some solace.
You
see, God does indeed work in mysterious and unimaginable ways to accomplish His
will in the lives of His beloved. I can honestly say that I believe that there
is NO hardship, NO trial,
NO
tribulation that may come upon us as believers that does not first pass through
the hands of our loving and omnipotent Father...for what Father would subject
his children to pain or suffering that did not in some way prepare them for a
bigger and brighter future of service....and in our case as believers, when
those hardships come (and believe me, they will), God has promised to never
leave us or forsake us!
So
we can take heart from the life of Joseph as we are reminded that the hardships
that we may endure in this life help us to see that God's purpose is greater
than our preference to avoid pain and conflict...rather we should rejoice, not
in the pain, but in the fact that we have been found worthy to suffer in order
to receive and move forward into a greater realm of service for our King!
Remember,
our God is ALWAYS working for our good and His GLORY and that just maybe, our
greatest misery might just become our greatest ministry.
Enduring
the pain...rejoicing in service to Him,
WPQ
Poem for the day....
Life can have
its ups and downs
Some bad things
may come your way;
But when you
trust the Father
He will guide
you through each day.
He'll lead you
through the darkest night
The deepest
valley, He will see you through.
For when life
may seem unbearable,
His love and
favor rest on YOU!
Don't try and
run from hardships
Though daunting
they may be....
Our Father has a
plan in this
Though the
outcome you can't see.
Just put you
hope and faith in Him
His hardships are
meant to bring....
Glory and Honor
and unending Praise
To Jesus, our
Lord and King!!!!
WPQ © July 2018
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