A beloved brother enthusiastically served the Lord both as pastor of a local assembly and an active leader in evangelism outreach in his part of the country until one of the assistants who lived under his roof and whom he had poured his life into betrayed his trust. It was just the beginning.

Then within the eldership of his church, concern was being raised cynically that his giving birth to many children was going to put undue burden on church finances.

A few years after, the travails reached a peak when bandits kidnapped his eldest son while travelling to the capital city of the country. The huge ransom that got the son released was raised by brethren across the nation who knew this man of integrity and his service to the Lord, but this became the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Heartbroken and in his own words, “there was no one I could speak to.” His enthusiasm plummeted and pastoring became half-hearted and it was obvious! Quoting him again, “when the Lord told me about the destinies of many that were tied to my life, I brushed it aside!”

All of these came out when another brother who had laboured with him in outreach for 26 years flew over to seek what had happened to him resulting in two whole years of withdrawal.

Are you going through difficulties of life that come as unrelenting waves of the ocean? Has past betrayal robbed you of trusting anyone to speak to about your challenges? You are not alone!

To who could Joseph explain what had happened in Potiphar’s house? Are you numbed by the thought of how could the God you love and served allow these things; forgetting that the ransom paid caused the release of your son where others were killed despite ransom being paid?

Perhaps if Potiphar demanded it, Joseph could have been executed out of misplaced rage. It’s here that we must draw a few more lessons from Joseph’s life. Here are three 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.
3. You can’t afford the excess baggage of bitterness. After many years, Joseph met his brothers again when they came to Egypt for grain. As they entered Joseph’s presence and bowed before him, Egypt’s second-in-command, they were unable to recognise him. And when Joseph tried to tell them who he was, they were stunned and horrified. Here was the brother they had tried to kill years earlier, and now he was in a position to do whatever he wished with them. But instead, he forgave them. Why? Because Joseph knew he couldn’t afford the excess baggage of bitterness. So what should you do when you’re tempted to harbour bitterness? Do what Joseph did: he sustained his faith and hope in God, believed that things would ultimately work out well, and continued his spiritual life. When things go wrong, we often turn our back on the one person we need most – the Lord. When difficulties come our way, we say, ‘God, why did you allow this to happen?’ We start blaming God as if it’s His fault, instead of saying, ‘Lord, please handle this problem.’ 

God can take circumstances that are completely bad and turn them around. When people attempt to use situations to destroy you, God can use them to develop you. He delights in turning crucifixions into resurrections. The Bible says, ‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you’ (James 4:8 NKJV). God comes by invitation, and as long as you keep talking to Him and trusting Him, He will work things out for you.”—Taken from Word for Today

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?’ Selah


Pastor Afolabi Oladele