“Maybe it’s not yet our time.” My best friend, Grace, said the other night. We concluded that maybe we’re still struggling because the Lord is still preparing us. Perhaps we are not yet ready for the promise.
Our 20s are filled with a roller coaster of events. We’re juggling career, health, social life, family time, relationships, ministries, healing from previous trauma, and a whole lot of other things. This is while working and thriving to make sure that our future is secured.
And with all of those in our plate, we still sometimes feel like we’re lacking. Or that we feel like we need to do more.
Today, my reading is in Genesis 39-40. It’s about Joseph’s journey from being sold to slavery to ending up in prison. Quick history of Joseph’s life — He was his father’s favorite, he had huge dreams which he shared with his siblings, his siblings hated him and planned to kill him, plan to kill him wasn’t successful so they sold him instead to Midianites, then the Midianites sold him to be a slave. This happened while he was around 17-19 years old.
You can read more about his story in Genesis 39-47.
Interestingly, the main focus of my reading today was on these verses:
The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.
Genesis 39:2, 21
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Joseph experienced the worst-case scenario in his late teens and 20s. He was betrayed, sold, enslaved, slandered, imprisoned, and isolated (from his family).
BUT, there’s a but and I love this so much! Our Lord was with him throughout this journey. It was mentioned twice in this chapter which means that we have to take notice of the phrase. The Lord was with Joseph. And the Lord showed him steadfast love!
What did Joseph do? If you read the entire chapter, you will see that Joseph excelled and became successful. He didn’t sulk, pity-party, or complain about his circumstances.
No, Joseph did not focus on his situation. Instead, he depended on God’s love for him.
God encountered Joseph where he was. And Joseph accepted what happened to him and still was faithful, positive, and hopeful.
He didn’t linger in the past nor longed for the future. He was present with the LORD every single day of those 13 years. Joseph depended on God’s steadfast love. Not in the past or future. The success was only a bonus. His life pleased the LORD.
Just like Joseph, we won’t always understand why circumstances happen to us but God doesn’t want us to focus on our situation. God wants us to focus on Him. Depend on Him. And be faithful to Him.
It’s also worth noting that Joseph didn’t sin throughout the story even if he had nothing. Joseph didn’t have anything or possessions all those years— even the robe gifted to him by his beloved father was taken from him when he was sold to the Midianites.
Encouragement
God says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”.
Isaiah 41:10
You might be juggling a lot of things right now. You might be dealing with a lot of challenges, healing from trauma, and going through situations you don’t understand.
God is with you in this moment. If we learn to focus on Him and His word all the days of our lives, we will realize that everything is small, like a dot, compared to the bigness of His love and glory.
The Lord is with you. His promises are true.