Wednesday, June 5, 2013

God Is At Work In Your Life

Gen. 45:7
God Is At Work In Your Life

     “And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” - Joseph
     This is the amazing conclusion of a very difficult trial of faith in the love and goodness of God. If you take some time and read the whole story of Joseph you will gain an important lesson in how God is working in our lives when we are enduring things we don’t understand. Hardships, delays, circumstances that don’t make sense, this story will renew your hope and trust in God’s faithfulness towards you.
     It starts with a son, Joseph, who is the greatest love of his father’s heart. Joseph comes to his father with two amazing dreams about God raising him up to rule over the rest of his family. Then while his father is pondering these things his son is suddenly taken from him and is declared dead! Now Jacob has a tremendous conflict with God. How can God seem to have promised a high position for his son and at the same time have allowed him to die! It is either a cruel joke from God or else why did He tell him one thing and then do something so dramatically different as to allow him to die?
     So I asked the Lord, “Why did you allow Jacob to think his son was dead for over 20 years?” That seems like a hard way to deal with Jacob whom You loved so dearly. Then God opened my understanding. Two things immediately presented themselves to me. The first was that God had to personally train Joseph and take him through tremendous trials in order to prepare him to be capable of his high position. Something that Jacob would have constantly stood in the way of as a parent who never wanted his son out of his sight so that nothing would harm him. The second is that if Jacob had had the slightest idea that Joseph was alive and in captivity he would have spared no pains or expense to get him set free and thus completely thwarting God’s plans for his life as ruler of Egypt.
     So Jacob, as you can probably imagine, goes to God daily with these questions running through his mind. God’s word and the reality as he knows it, contradicting each other so much and yet here is God continually saying, “Trust Me” and filling him with that peace that only God can give to a completely distressed soul.
     Then, suddenly, all that God has done comes to pass in a moment of time and not only does Jacob receive his son back but also all of the blessings God has stored up for him in Egypt! So if you are struggling with hard contradictions in your life right now and asking God why His promises to you and your current circumstances are not lining up and every time you go to God about it He says, “Peace, trust Me.” You can be sure that God is at work laying a foundation in your life that you have no idea about. Take this time to allow God to shape you into His image and with patient endurance and trust in Him, you will not be disappointed!
     God bless you all! Keep pressing forward in Him and He will see you safely through your hardest trials!

4 comments:

  1. Seth:

    Between 2002 and 2005 I had 3 dreams from the Lord about God bringing to birth a wonderful thing in my life, but then almost immediately after I entered the most difficult valley years imaginable.....

    Your message truly encouraged me again to not yet give up on God's plan even though I feel faint.
    Be blessed,
    Julie
    Johnstown NY

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  2. What a wonderful example from God's Word. Thank you Seth, this is very timely and needful right now. :-) God is showing some things to me at the moment, but other things I'm still left in the dark about. This entry just settles my soul. :-)

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  3. Awesome meditation, Seth. God is truly guiding and instructing you with great insights. In my whole life I have never thought of the perspectives that both Jacob and Joseph must have had for that long, long 20 years. Your study is simiply innspirational and says so clearly, "Hang in there! God is doing a great work that you cannot see or comprehend in your life.!!" Thank you so much, Seth! Aunt Sue

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  4. Hello all. I am new to this. I love Scripture.
    Seth. I did read the whole story of Joseph, sold by
    brothers, fake blood, prophesying dreams coming
    true. I read the story about 9 times( Am on reading
    the bible cover to cover 9th time). I always felt God's
    hand in Jacob's loss. I agree, if Jacob knew would
    have tried to mess up God's plan. I like the way you
    brought up "in a moments time" what God can do.

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