Hebrews 11:30 (NLT), “It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came tumbling down.”
So many times throughout my life I’ve been in situations where things were out of my control. At those times I was completely helpless to change the situation on my own. Now I would love to tell you that in all of these times I stepped back in faith and let God take over. But as you probably guessed, that wasn’t the case for me. Even though I knew there was nothing I could do about the situation, I still tried to force something to happen. I’m thinking to myself, I must have overlooked something, there must be an angle I didn’t see, or maybe I’m just not trying hard enough. In those times when I would try to force or manipulate something into happening I would fail miserably. I couldn’t see that it was time for me to let go and let God do His work.
The Life Journey devotional I’m reading gave a great example from the Bible of who we should act like in these times. It talked about Joseph and the amazing faith he displayed through all of his trials. Joseph was separated from his family, sold into slavery by his brothers, wrongfully convicted of a crime, and imprisoned. During all of these trials he never tried to manipulate the situation, no he stood strong in faith knowing God had the ultimate plan. Because of his faithfulness, God saw him through and Joseph ended up in charge of all of Egypt, living a blessed life.
How many times have you missed out on God’s best because you tried to manipulate an uncomfortable situation? Instead of staying in faith and leaning on God’s promises, you tried to take matters into your own hands. Where did that get you? It’s time to act more like Joseph and endure the discomfort of the season, knowing in faith that God has many blessings waiting for you on the other side. It will be difficult and the adversity will be uncomfortable. But stand in faith knowing your God wants you to live a blessed and fulfilled life. This temporary season of discomfort is just a path to get you there!
Truth In Love! ~ Chuck