Are you going through a very hard time right now?
Does it feel like the waves are crashing over your ship, and you are far out at sea? It is dark, and you cannot see where you are going. It feels like this storm has been going on for a long time, and it just will not let up.
You have prayed.
You have asked God to deliver you.
But nothing seems to change.
Your friends have accused you, doubted you, and even mocked you.
God seems far away.
No one understands, not even you.
You may have even begun to wonder if God is still there for you. Maybe you have questioned whether God has left, and it feels like everything in life is working against you.
You question: Lord, is there a reason for all of this? Tell me, Lord, if there is.
Yes, child, there is a reason. Just keep walking. Keep trusting. Stay faithful.
One day it will all make sense.
In the Bible, God did something like this in the life of Joseph. Joseph’s brothers became angry with him because of a dream he had. Their anger led them to sell him into slavery. Joseph was taken far from home, falsely accused of something he did not do, and thrown into prison. He stayed there for years, forgotten and alone.
Then suddenly, the door opened.
Joseph went from prison to being second in command over all of Egypt.
Years later, when Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers, he said these powerful words:
“Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5).
And again he said:
“And God sent me before you… So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God…” (Genesis 45:7-8).
Through a long and painful process, God was moving His people. He used famine to bring Jacob and his sons out of the land of Canaan and into Egypt. God was moving Israel from one place to another. To make that happen, many hard and confusing things had to take place over many years.
I am fully convinced that God sometimes works this same way in our lives. He allows deep struggles, strong opposition, sleepless nights, crying out to God, and heavy challenges. Sometimes the road is so hard that we even question whether God is there at all. But just like with Joseph, his brothers, and his father, God was there every step of the way.
In the end, God always accomplishes His purposes.
And even when we cannot see it, even when it hurts deeply, even when it seems that we have been in survival mode for a long time, God is moving.
Don’t miss the little confirmations from God along the way. They are there. You just have to recognize them. Write them down. Read them daily. Hold on to them.
May God reveal your hidden door today.
When He does, you’ll know, and so will the whole world around you.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).