Today, let’s press further on the issue of handling negative orchestrations of life and see the path to victory for Joseph.

“To reach his destiny, Joseph went through betrayal, temptation, slander, and wrongful imprisonment, But, he came out on top. Here is what Joseph recognised that you need to recognise too: 1) God knows what you’re going through, and He cares. There is a key phrase found five different times in the story of Joseph: ‘But the LORD was with Joseph.’ Even when everything was going wrong, Joseph never doubted that God was with him. 2) You have been given freedom of choice. God gives you freedom to choose how you will react to your circumstances: faith or doubt, joy or despair, patience or impatience, etc. When you choose to ignore what’s right, God won’t force His will on you. Sometimes we bring problems ourselves and then blame God. We say, ‘It must be God’s will,’ as if God gets pleasure out of planning our mistakes and miseries! The truth of the matter is that God’s will isn’t always carried out. Yes, He has a plan for our lives, but He has also given us free will. And because He has also given others free will, their mistakes and decisions can hurt us as well. 3) God is in control of the final outcome. He can take every negative circumstance in your life today and tum it around for your good. In the end, Joseph could say, ‘You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good’ (see Genesis 50:20). And while God was working to bring good out of his situation, Joseph had to keep trusting Him, even though at the time he did not understand what was happening – and you must do that too.

Here are two more things Joseph understood that you need to understand as well: 1) You can’t afford to give in to self-pity. Perhaps you’re going through a trial right now and you’re an innocent party – the victim of a situation you didn’t cause. Consider Joseph’s reaction when he was in a similar position. The first thing he didn’t do was succumb to self-pity. Why? Because it’s a major contributor to depression. Often when we experience a serious problem and our self-esteem is already at its lowest ebb, we start blaming ourselves and putting ourselves down. Joseph didn’t do that. He understood that the crisis he was in wasn’t of his own making, and he tried to look at it realistically. When you’re in a storm and you allow your boat to turn sideways, the storm will capsize you. Similarly, when storms come into your life, the best way to overcome them is to trust God and face them head-on, like Joseph did. 2) Never make a major decision when you’re depressed. Many times when we’re discouraged, we’re tempted to say, ‘I’m going to give up,’ or ‘I’m going to switch jobs,’ or ‘I’m going to move away,’ or ‘I’m going to file for divorce.’ Please don’t do that! When you’re downcast and despondent, your feelings are unreliable, your focus becomes blurred, and you lose your perspective when it comes to exercising good judgement. So what should you do? Trust God to bring you through it! Say with the psalmist, ‘In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?’

Remember the words of the old Sunday school song, ‘The wise man built his house upon the Rock…The foolish man built his house upon the sand’? The storm hit both houses leaving only the wise man’s house standing. Jesus wasn’t simply recommending the virtues of wisdom over foolishness. The truth is, we’re all wise at times and foolish at others. And He wasn’t saying the house that survived the storm was a believer’s house while the house that perished belonged to an unbeliever. Neither was He implying that the church attender’s house withstood the storm while the non-attender’s house collapsed. His point was simpler – and more compelling. When things are at their worst and we are pushed to the wall, when we doubt our chances of survival, when we have used up our last ounce of resistance, it’s not our wisdom, salvation, or church attendance that gets us through the storm. While these are crucially important aspects of Christian life for which we praise God, many wise, faithful believers go under in life’s storms: an abusive relationship, a financial collapse, an unfaithful partner, the loss or illness of a child, a mental or physical disability. Jesus’ point wasn’t even a plea for increased knowledge of His Word. Both homeowners understood His Word, but simply saying, ‘Lord, I totally agree with you,’ won’t get you through the storm. The point Jesus was making here is that doing what you hear Him say is what will get you through the storm! God has bound Himself to honour His Word, and your obedience aligns you with it and activates His power on your behalf.” – Taken from Word for Today by Bob and Debby Gass

Selah.



Pastor Afolabi Oladele