His ways are past finding out!

          I feel led to continue with the story of Joseph. Last week I looked at the reality that God was even more interested in what He wanted to develop in Joseph’s character than in actually fulfilling his dream. His process may have been long and difficult but the final result was worth it in the end.
         I want to look at this story however, from another angle. God had a place prepared for His people, Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. Interestingly, Jacob and his family had actually arrived at Canaan and had already settled there. Then, rivalry and jealousy among his children caused one of his youngest sons, Joseph, to be sold into slavery in Egypt, taking him out of the Promised Land. When God reunited them several years later, Joseph, after several years of slavery, had miraculously risen to the position of Pharaoh’s right-hand man. But why? God wasn’t just interested in taking Joseph out of his pit-like situation to the proverbial “palace” so that the dream he had many years before would become a reality. In fact, Joseph himself revealed God’s true purpose for all he had suffered: “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life...to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:5, 7). God had an even bigger picture than the one He had given Joseph! It wasn’t about making him great but about using him to deliver his family during a worldwide famine. God’s ways are truly higher than ours and are therefore, not easy to figure out. No one but God knew that that famine was coming, but God did. And He orchestrated everything to make a way of escape and safety for His people to ensure they did not die out because of the famine.
         The thought comes to my mind that we truly need to trust God. We have heard many times that when we can’t trace God we should simply trust Him. That is so true. There was no way for Joseph or his family to know that all the evil that had befallen him would actually work out not just for his good but for the good of the entire family. But it did. And think about it. God provided a safe place for the children of Israel among a people who considered shepherds an abomination (Genesis 46:33-34). Yet, God protected and preserved them there for many years. And a few hundred years later when it was time for Him to return them to Canaan, the land He had promised would be theirs, He knew it would be difficult for them to leave their comfort zone, so, what did He do? He made it uncomfortable for them by causing the Egyptians to treat them so harshly that when Moses came on the scene in the book of Exodus they were willing to leave to return to the same land He had taken them out of. 
         It’s pretty much a waste of time trying to figure God out. It really is about making the choice to trust Him especially when you can’t trace Him, when what He is doing in your life doesn’t make sense. He gives you a dream but then the journey to the dream is fraught with mishaps, challenges, detours, derailment and at times uncertainty. I think God just wants us to learn to trust Him every step of the way. I saw a saying recently from an unknown author, which reads, “Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase.” We are so accustomed to looking at the entire staircase and may become discouraged with how long or how difficult it may seem. But many times God just wants us to focus on one step at a time. You see, each step gives us the opportunity to work on some area in our lives that needs it. In this way, by the time we have completed the staircase, we are ready and mature enough to embrace the good God has in store for us at the end of it. 
         Even as I write this, I am realizing that about my own life. I would love to be able to move from point A to point B without a problem but then I would not acquire the valuable nuggets needed to develop my character. Last week I said that God is more interested in developing our character than He is in giving us the dream He promised. Jesus rightly said it is better to put new wine into new bottles than into old ones because the old bottles would not be able to handle it and they would burst (Mark 2:22). God wants us to be ready and able to receive and to enjoy all He has for us. He is not just leading us to our final destination to embrace a dream but He is using the process to create a vessel of worth, a vessel of honor, fit for its Master’s use. 
          If you have not asked Jesus Christ to come into your life I invite you to do so now. Life is already so filled with challenges and uncertainty. Wouldn't it be nice to have a Master Guide who will lead you safely and securely through every challenge and difficulty and at the end of the journey ensure that you are equipped and ready to embrace all the good He has for you? Don't wait, make that step now!

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