Did you know that through is a favorite word of God’s?
Isaiah 43:2 reads, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” (emphasis ours)
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Sometimes life feels like it’s shutting down all around us. The government shuts down. Communication with our teen cuts off. Our marriage is on the fritz. Our health goes on hiatus.
And then, during a pandemic, we face the very real shut downs everywhere we turn.
How do we get through? We can’t logic our way past the problems. Or yell our way out. And we certainly can’t drink our way to an exit ramp.
Let’s be honest. Life can be pretty rough, and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better.
Just ask Joseph. Remember him? Jacob’s son—the one with the coat of many colors and brothers from two different mothers? Those brothers threw him into a pit, and it went downhill from there. Abandonment led to enslavement, then entrapment and finally imprisonment. He was sucker punched. Sold out. Mistreated. People made promises only to break them, offered gifts only to take them back. Life shut down. Sound familiar?
But Joseph never gave up. Bitterness never staked its claim. Anger never metastasized into hatred. His heart never hardened; his resolve never vanished. He not only survived; he thrived. He ascended like a helium balloon. An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. The prison warden placed him over the inmates. And Pharaoh, the highest ruler on the planet, shoulder-tapped Joseph to serve as his prime minister. And then he used this authority for great good. It’s not hyperbole to state that he saved the world from starvation.
What did he know? How did he flourish in the midst of tragedy and difficulty? Joseph knew that in God’s hands intended evil becomes eventual good. He worked a plan and he trusted God. He knew that, with God’s help, he would get through. This is still true today.
To be sure, the times are difficult. Just as Joseph did, we face governmental uncertainty, family dysfunction and personal suffering. But just like Joseph, we can trust God to trump evil. It may not be painless, or quick. But God will use this mess for good. Don’t give in to despair.
With God’s help, you’ll get through this.
~ Max
From You’ll Get Through This by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.
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This is a book and study through the life of Joseph in the Bible, and in it we'll discover so much about the God who knows our painful circumstances and never leaves us.
God doesn't promise that getting through trials will be quick or painless. That certainly wasn’t the case for Joseph, who was tossed in a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongfully imprisoned, forgotten and dismissed, but God ultimately used the intended evil against Joseph for a greater purpose.
In You'll Get Through This, Max reminds us that no matter what pit we find ourselves in, God has a plan and a pathway forward.
When you join the study, get FREE access to the study videos with Max, helpful resources, Scripture printables, and more!
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