Hang In There!!
“And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.” Genesis 42:36
If you are not familiar with the story of Joseph, I encourage you to read it! What an exciting story – a wonderful, wonderful example of Romans 8:28, that all things DO work together for good to them that love God! You can read the entire story in Genesis chapters 37 & 39-50.
The above verse takes place upon the brothers returning the first time from Egypt. Jacob, their father, had sent them there to buy corn because of a widespread famine. Upon their return, they have to inform Jacob that not only were they forced to leave a brother (Simeon) in Egypt, but they also must now take the youngest brother (Benjamin) back with them if they are ever to see Simeon again. Jacob’s response is one of despair – and no wonder! Joseph is dead (at least that is what he has believed all these years), Simeon is in prison and now he is faced with letting go of his youngest son. “All these things are against me”, he says. But, as I read this, I want to say – “Hang in there, Jacob! It’s going to get better. You’re just about at the end of your nighttime. All of this ‘bad’ is actually God working things out for good. Just hang in there…morning’s coming soon!”
I was talking to a mother recently and as I encouraged her to “let go and let God” concerning a situation that was causing her much grief, I then had to warn her – “Now, when you let go, things will probably get worse before they get better.” I have often explained it like this. Let’s say we are praying for an individual who is at “Point A” and our prayer is for God to take them to “Point B”. In our mind, we picture a straight line like this:
Point A ————————————Point B
But GOD knows what must take place in that person’s heart before they can arrive at “Point B”. So HIS plan may look more like this:
Point A \__?_/\__???—-@@@\/\__?___/ Point B
Our plan may be the more attractive “easy road” but easy roads are usually not accompanied by “lessons learned” which produce lasting changes. When we find ourselves in an extended trial full of ups & downs, questions, low times and just going around in circles we must resist the urge to throw our hands up in despair. All things may SEEM to be against us, as Jacob said, but God really is working in ways that we cannot see. Hang in there! It may get darker before the sun shines but morning ALWAYS comes!
“God’s dawn always follows grief’s darkness.” ~ Woodrow Kroll
“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5