When We Don’t Understand God’s Plan
When I became ill, I got diagnosed with five diseases in three years, three of them were rare. Life changed in so many ways for me, and pain became my constant companion. I had a long list of symptoms that ultimately made it impossible to continue working, and sent friends running the other direction. It felt like living through a barrage of storms, and the storms on the inside were even worse.
In weaker moments I found myself questioning what I did to deserve all I had gotten. I didn’t know anyone else in my town who had anything like me. People questioned what I had and suggested that I wasn’t right with God or had a stronghold. I pleaded with God to reveal to me what I needed to know.
I found great comfort in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37.) He was the youngest of 13 brothers who betrayed him in the worst of ways-they sold him into slavery and told their father he had died. He had God’s favor- and was made the head of the household where he was a slave (Genesis 39.) Then he was betrayed again- when he wouldn’t go to bed with his master’s wife; she claimed that he raped her! This landed him in prison. But all the while, God was with him.
So God used his circumstances and the gift he gave him, of interpreting dreams. It was ultimately someone Joseph met in prison whose dream he interpreted a few years before who told Pharaoh about his ability (Genesis 41.) He ended up becoming the second most powerful man in Egypt. Additionally, his family was reunited and restored.
What does this mean to me? God loved Joseph and used his circumstances to help an entire country. Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream lead to Pharaoh’s storing grain for a coming famine. God has a purpose, for you and for me. The Lord allowing difficult circumstances in our lives has nothing to do with how much He loves us. He is always with us, and uses everything to mold us and shape our story.
How do you see God’s hand in your circumstances?
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