Remaining Steadfast in Times of Hardship.

Written by Zach Roll.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”
Genesis 50:20 New Living Translation

Photo: Douglas Brauner

How could this happen to me?Why do bad things always happen to good people? Why am I being punished when I am being faithful to God? These are questions that we ask ourselves, and God, when we are facing trials and hardships. Satan, being the master of deception, would like for us to believe, that no matter how steadfast we are in our faith, that one sin is why we are being “punished” by God.

If anyone had any right to exact revenge on those who wronged him, Joseph would be on that list. First, his brothers plotted to kill him, then instead threw him in a well, and later sold him into slavery. Then Joseph is accused of pursuing his masters wife, when in fact she pursued him. Joseph spurned her, refusing to betray his master, and refusing to sin against God. Joseph ends up in prison. Then God uses Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, which leads to Joseph saving countless lives from a severe famine in Egypt.

Every time Joseph is wronged, God uses him for amazing things. Now Joseph is in a position of power, his brothers come asking for food, and they don’t recognize that they are at the mercy of their brother Joseph. He is in a perfect position to punish his brothers for what they did to him. So what does he do? He blesses them, he gives them food, and eventually gives them, and his father, the best land Egypt had to offer!

Do we have this kind of faith? Let us follow the example of Joseph, loving those who wrong us, trusting God in every circumstance, and remaining faithful to him even when we suffer at the hands of this world.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO