“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV).
It is difficult to trust the Lord when our lives seem to be full of problems and it is very easy to dwell on our own worldly understanding. Wouldn’t we all like to be able to hit that EASY button and make all of our troubles disappear. But, let’s face it, life is not like that. Troubles will come and contentment will at times be very hard to find. At those times we can look to the Bible for reassurance that God is there for us.
Joseph had a ton of troubles, but according to the Bible his faith in God kept him from sinking into a quicksand of hopelessness. Let’s look at his life. (Genesis 37-47) Joseph was the favored son of Jacob. The brothers were jealous of this and sold him to a caravan heading for Egypt. He became the slave of one of the pharaoh’s officials. It is interesting to note that the Lord was with him and everything he did was a success. So even though he was a slave he knew that God was with him. He could have mourned his state and become disconsolate, but instead he worked at his job doing the best he could. Then something happened that sent him to prison. The official’s wife lied and said he had come to sleep with her. He was thrown into prison. But while he was in prison the Lord was with him and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison guard. Again, Joseph could have been sad and whined, but instead he trusted in his God. He remained in prison for two years until the Pharaoh had a dream that troubled him, and Joseph, who could interpret dreams, was asked to come before the pharaoh to interpret his dream. Joseph interpreted the dream that predicted a famine and was put in charge of the whole land of Egypt. So you see Joseph’s faith and trust in the Lord paid off. When his brothers came before him to get food, he could say to them in all earnestness, “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5 NIV).
The lesson in Joseph’s story involves trusting the Lord when we cannot understand why things are happening the way they are. Joseph had no idea that all of his problems would end up saving a lot of peoples’ lives. His faith in the Lord helped him be the perfect servant of the Lord. So no matter what you are facing in your life, trust the Lord, wait and see what He can do through you. Trust Him completely and you will be surprised at the outcome.
Dear Lord,
Help us to trust you when our lives seem tossed by problems or discontentment. We know that you are in charge and that all things can work for your good in our lives.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
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