Have you ever doubted God’s plan for your life? Perhaps you felt confident about the route you believed God wanted you walk in. You stepped out in faith, but then some unexpected bumps along the road hit you. And now you’re confused. Are you on the right track? Wouldn’t God make everything work out if he truly has this plan for you?
Throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s plan laid out piece by piece to bring the Israelites to the promised land. They couldn’t see it, but as readers of those historical events, we have the ability to see how God’s plan unfolded.
Joseph’s imprisonment in Egypt? For a greater purpose, to be uplifted and in charge in order to establish the Israeli nation, eventually. Joseph only knew part of God’s plan — he never saw the full plan.
The purpose of the difficult times along the journey to leaving Egypt? To encourage trust, trusting that God would provide even when it seemed like the Egyptians would overcome them, or when they thought that they would starve or die of thirst. God always came through. And the route along the journey was not easy either — it was full of hiccups. But God called them out, and they were doing as God had asked, with the exception of a few times when they made the journey longer and harder because of sin.
The same principle applies to our life. We may experience hardship doing the will of God, and that’s normal. We can’t always understand why we have to endure the pain along the way, but we can trust that those bumps along the way are for a greater purpose, known by God. We just can’t see it quite yet. So we trust.
Dear Lord, please help me to trust, to take the good and the bad, and to use negative experiences on the journey as ways to build my faith. Amen.
Throughout This Day: Remind yourself of God’s big picture, the Gospel, by reading Paul’s synopsis in Acts 13:16-41 of the route God created in order to bring Christ to us.