Real Christians Suffer

Today's Verse

Genesis 45:7-8 (NKJV)

And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Read Genesis 45

Thoughts

We often do not understand when bad things happen to us. We freak out, we complain, we blame God, we backslide, and we never want to live a Christian life again. In our story, despite of what happened to Joseph, when everything seemed to be going down the drain, Joseph floated in the midst of adversity and kept trusting God. Joseph never complained, never murmured, and never blamed his brothers about his situation for he knew that the Lord was with him. And so, he can say at the end, “It was God who sent me here, and not you”.

This story can be paralleled in the story of Jesus. It wasn’t the Jews who killed Him, nor the Roman soldiers, nor Judas Iscariot – it was the Father God who sent Jesus to the cross (1 John 4:10), to save us from eternal damnation in the lake of fire, by paying the death penalty Himself – all because of His love for us. And now, Jesus sits on the throne in heaven as the ruler and judge of all.

Have you been walking in the Lord really faithfully, and still experiencing the hardships and trials in your life? Be joyful, it is according to God’s plan that He is preparing you for better things yet to come (1 Peter 5:10). God is preparing you to be a great blessing to other people – you may not know it, but it is in the hands of the Almighty God. Joseph was rewarded the position of Egypt’s prime minister, because of his faithfulness to God. You may not have that kind of reward on earth, but God prepared better rewards for you in heaven.

Prayer

Lord God Heavenly Father, help us when trials come along our way for Your sake, as we journey towards our destiny with You. Forgive us when we fall, restore to us the joy of salvation we have in you. Use us for Your glory and as blessing to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.