Standing Strong

We all know that nothing in this world is fair. Even for the follower of Jesus, there is hurt, pain, and struggles. We may ask the question, why do those who love the Lord go through such agony? I wish that I had the answer, but all I can say is that through the storm we must stand strong. We have a lot of illustrations throughout the Bible that speak to this question and the desire to stand strong. In the New Testament, ten of the eleven disciples die as martyrs. The one who was not killed suffered horribly with attempts to kill him and was finally exiled. The Apostle Paul was beheaded, and of course, the horrible crucifixion of our Lord.

But today I want to look at an Old Testament hero of faith by the name of Joseph. Joseph was favored by his father, and it made all the other brothers very jealous, so they sold him into slavery. Joseph went through many hard and difficult years, yet, even through all of this, the Lord was with Joseph because Joseph would not give up on Him. With the God-given ability to interpret dreams, Joseph finally got out of prison and actually became second in charge of Egypt, only behind Pharaoh himself. Finally, the day came when Joseph was able to confront his brothers; he did not desire revenge, but reconciliation. Listen to his words in Genesis 45:7-8, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph had godly wisdom to understand that there was a purpose for his suffering. There were great plans to save many through the suffering of one man. Yet, Joseph stayed faithful through being sold into slavery, falsely accused, thrown into prison, and being forgotten about while there. I imagine it didn’t make sense at the time, and I would imagine that Joseph cried out and asked God why. Those answers were not given to him while he was going through it, but not until Joseph had passed the crucible did things finally begin to become clear. Through his suffering, many would be saved.

I do not believe for one second that the Lord allows His children to suffer for no reason or purpose. Joseph was allowed to see the purpose of his suffering and healing with his brothers.  You may be walking the path of pain and anguish, and I know that it does not make sense today, and it may not make sense tomorrow, but one day, the Lord will make known the purpose of why His people suffer. But until then, we must continue to trust that everything has purpose and the Lord’s will shall be done. We must continue to stand strong.