Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
Psalms 105:16-17 When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
Genesis 45:4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Acts 2:24 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
Acts 4:28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Isaiah 46:9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness:
Bad things happen, trouble visits us, and trials drop in on our lives. How do we know what seems bad, God will use for good? “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Sometimes it seems as though we think our life will be different and trouble will not find us. Other times we roll with the punch and disregard it or give it little thought. But, then there are those times that find us and we get punched so hard we are left to wonder, what did I do to deserve this. We wonder if it was a consequence of our doing or that of another – who can we blame.
Look at it from Jacob’s view and the reported loss of his son Joseph, the loss of Rachel during the birth of Benjamin, the famine on the land. Look at it from Joseph’s view and being hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongly accused, time in prison and forgotten by those he helped. You have to know they felt the weight of these trials and troubles.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
“My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.”
Knowing this does not make it easier or take the weight of the burden we are bearing and trying to put into the hands of God.
We can more easily bear burdens that individually affect us but find it hard to bear those troubles that fall on our family and children where we are powerless and lost for means of making it go away (fixing it). What can lay harder on the heart of a parent than harm to their child from someone trusted.
In troubling times, waiting, trusting and relying on God is hard and requires daily reliance building faith to continue. “Joy comes in the morning” comes to mind and the night of darkness ends in the light of Him who is able to wipe away our tears, lift us up out of our troubles, and gives us refuge in chaos.
Faith – in God’s everlasting promises
Reliance – on God’s almighty sovereignty
Trust – in God’s plans and purposes
Hope – to God’s steadfast love
These seem only to be words but in the faith heart of His children they are courage, strength, power and comfort to face the trials and troubles that come their way.