“Trust… Involves Patience”

If you ever think you’re having a bad day, just look at Joseph in the Old Testament. Joseph, the son of Jacob & Rachel, after being cast into a well and almost killed, was sold into slavery by his brothers. After rising up into a position of influence with the Pharaoh’s top counselor, he again was betrayed and cast into prison…. what a disaster. Yet in all of these situations, he didn’t complain against God and trusted that the Lord was with him. After the Lord delivered him again, he ended up in the highest position in Egypt after the Pharaoh. As you may remember, God eventually used him to save the people of Israel… he saved them and he forgave them. Joseph …. what a man of God !

Joseph is a great example to us for when things don’t go our way and we even get betrayed. He did not get resentful against those who betrayed him, and most importantly, he did not get resentful against the Lord. When we are suffering and those we love are suffering, we must cling to the Lord and continue to trust God ….  that he will not abandon us, that he is still at work, that he has a good solution in store for the problem at hand. Not easy.

Another important aspect of this process is PATIENCE. It’s one thing to believe that the Lord is going to rescue you out of a particular mess, but to still hope and trust when it hasn’t happened yet, and you’re still stuck in some well or some prison. “Gee, I thought you heard my prayer and had plans for me…and here I am in this  crummy prison… yikes.” That’s really when trust is important and when our trust grows…trusting that the Lord hasn’t forgotten about me…still believing. Well, Joseph was incredible. And then after all his suffering, he didn’t take vengeance on his brothers who caused all his woes. 

Ultimately, trusting God doesn’t have a time limit. If I trust God, I can’t put a time limit on it. I trust God is hearing my prayer, period. Again, easier said than done…but still true. 

I had a good friend who was praying for the conversion of his adult children who had drifted away from God. He prayed and sacrificed, year after year. While he saw progress, there was more to come. Firm in his trust, he understood that he may not see the full answer to his prayers while on this earth; he may need to wait and  see the answer from heaven…. where he is now.

If you’re like me, you currently have a number of serious prayer requests in the Lord’s hands. We must trust that he is more interested in the matter at hand than we are. We must trust that he is at work. We must trust that the solution is on the way…not just solving the main issue at hand, but also bringing grace and healing to others along the way…”holy collateral blessings”. God is at work ! Almighty God is with us ! There is nothing too big for him or too complicated for him to solve. Let’s keep our eyes open, scanning the horizon from where our help comes…. because help is coming.  And that is very good news.