Things Often Get Worse Before They Get Better
When you turn over a new leaf you expect things to get better. That is not always the case when it comes to our faith. Sometimes things get worse before they get better. That was certainly the case with Joseph. When his brothers reject him and sale him into slavery he faces his circumstances honorably. Because God is with him he is successful regardless of his situation. Things seem to be looking up and then Joseph is falsely accused. Because of the accusation he is thrown into prison. While in prison he befriends a couple of fellow prisoners who commit to help him once they are released. But they forget Joseph once they get out. Even though God was with Joseph the entire time things appeared to be getting worse. Eventually things turn around and we see the divine purpose behind it all. If you are going through a tough time right now it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are displeasing God. Sometimes things get worse before they get better in order to position us for the future. Read Genesis 39 & 40 to get all the details and tomorrow I will begin sharing what we are to do when we find ourselves in these situations.
The thing about Joseph is he never gave up. That
is not always easy to do. Many times we want to
shake our fist at God and say why me. When in
reality many times after time has passed and we
have had time to reflect we see there was a reason
for the things we went through. It is true
Christ is the potter and we are the clay. He
uses good times and bad to mold and make us into
who we are.
I agree with that Donna. The road back can be long and hard – but it is oh so worth it! The bad times helped grow me into who I am and it’s actually pretty cool when you can take something from even the horrible things that happen and help someone else. So it wasn’t for naught. And he’s still molding and shaping me and I’m still growing and that makes this life in Christ just about as cool an adventure as a person could ever experience.