Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” Romans 8:35-36
At our house, it’s not really Christmas until we indulge in that old movie where Jimmy Stewart discovers the value of his ordinary life, and our throats get tight and our eyes water, hoping the same is true of all of us. He doesn’t get to do anything he wanted to do - travel, write, build, experience - but his tragedies and losses turned out for the good for himself and multitudes of others. We feel it so deeply that in our troubles, we turn around and tell each other, “God has a plan. This will work out for good.” and remind ourselves of Romans 8:28.
Of course, for many of those going through the deepest tragedies of their lives, their “dark night of the soul" this is cold comfort at best. They don’t want it to “feel good", they want it to be “over and done." And they especially yearn that it never happened at all!
Take Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers, believed to be dead by his father, enslaved, and then betrayed again. Hard luck just seemed to dog his tracks, and the dreams that had brightened his early days must have seemed like a mockery. And yet, in slavery and in jail, like cream, he kept floating to the top.
The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed. Genesis 39:23
He had amazing success in the midst of really bad circumstances, yet he longed to be free. Just like you or I would. The joy of being the apple of the warden’s eye was dramatically dimmed by the whole “unjustly accused in prison” thing.
Most of us facing tough times in our lives would prefer they had never happened, or that they would be over soon (like, yesterday). Even when we live by faith and are trusting that God’s purpose is being worked out, it can be hard to take. Rejoicing in tribulation is a fine thing - in theory. In practice? It’s not for the faint of heart.
And yet, Joseph and Jimmy give us a great reminder that the disappointments and griefs of our lives are not the end of the story. For the Christian, that ending was written in the blood of the Lamb, and no matter what our current circumstances look like there is a great day coming.
No, in all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the One who loved us. Romans 8:37
Look at it this way: God has a wonderful plan for your ETERNITY. And He has an IMPORTANT plan for your life. Not easy. Important.
Hang in there. Be faithful. There’s more to your story than you know, and there’s a Better Day coming!
