We’ve all faced adversity in life, but I think that the worst type of adversity comes from feeling misunderstood by those closest to us. This kind of adversity is most hurtful…when we feel rejected, abandoned, or hurt by someone who has an important place in our lives. It can cause us to feel like we are alone in the world, like there is no one that is for us, and that everyone is against us. But, even if our emotions tell us that we are alone, the truth is that God is for us. And because of this…we will always have everyone and everything that we will ever need.
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? (Romans 8:31 NLT)
At face value, this scripture sounds like it’s saying that because God is for us, we will never face adversity. But we know that this isn’t true. We can look at the life of Christ as proof of that. So, what does this scripture really mean for us? And how do we benefit from having the Creator on our side?
Because God is for us, He causes our adversity to work for us.
This is one of the many benefits that we have because we are children of God. He will always make sure that everything thrown our way works towards the purpose that He has for our lives. And He will never allow us to be taken out of His hand of providence. This means that regardless of the situation or someone’s intention towards us…it’s all working for us. And regardless of any misfortune that we might face along the way, God is fashioning it to work in our favor. He will cause it to be the thing that brings us closer to Him, and closer to the purpose that He has for our lives. How can this be? Well scripture tells us that He already knew the end before beginning. And scripture tells us that He made His plan for us long before we were ever in our mother’s womb. Scripture also tells us that He causes all things to work together for our good, according to the purpose that He has for our lives. Nothing is a surprise to God. All the disappointments and let downs that we’ve experienced were already known to Him. And when He planned our lives out, He made sure that it would all work out in our favor.
Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, And from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:10 AMP)
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)
A prime example of how God causes adversity to work for us is found in the story of Joseph. His story begins with him being sold into slavery by his own brothers, but it ends in him walking in the purpose that God had for his life all along.
As a young man, God gave Joseph a vision of him being in a position of prominence and leadership. He had two dreams, and both of them depicted his entire family bowing before him, as if he were a king. Once Joseph shared his dreams with his family, it caused his brothers—who already despised him—to hate him even more.
His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. (Genesis 37:8 NLT)
Joseph’s brothers were so upset that they later contemplated killing him. But because one brother intervened, they sold Joseph to a group of Ishmaelite traders instead.
When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”(Genesis 37:18-20 NLT)
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. (Genesis 37:26-28 NLT)
Joseph’s brothers hated him; they hated the fact that he thought he would rule over them. And maybe a part of them believed it as well, because Joseph had always been favored than they were. Why else would they take such drastic measures to get rid of him? They did everything they could to thwart Joseph’s destiny. But they didn’t understand that they didn’t have the ability to stop the plan that God had for his life. They didn’t know that God knew everything that would happen in Joseph’s life before he was ever born. And they didn’t realize that God was allowing the situation, and using the situation, so that His will could be done through Joseph. Joseph’s brothers thought they were hurting him, but in reality, they were helping him—by sending him to the place that God had called him to… Egypt.
Joseph’s story had a lot of twists and turns; it had a lot of ups and down, misfortunes and adversity, but it all led Joseph to be in the right place at the right time. It led to him having the tools and character that he needed to be who God called him to be. Joseph was responsible for devising a plan that saved not only his entire family, but the entire land of Egypt and the surrounding countries from starvation.
Joseph’s brothers were determined to stop him from becoming great, but they didn’t realize that they needed him to be great. They didn’t realize that later on, their lives would be in danger, and they would need someone to save them. But God had a plan…and He made sure that His plan was fulfilled.
Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground. (Genesis 42:6 NLT)
There is no one powerful enough to thwart God’s plan for your life.
It doesn’t matter if everyone around you is against you, because God is for you, as He was for Joseph. This means that there is no one on this earth that is powerful enough to stop the plan that God has for your life. God will use those that misunderstand you, to push you towards your destiny. He will even use those that hate and despise you, to bring you to the place that He has for you. Just like He did in Joseph’s life. I know it hurts. I know it’s hard to move towards purpose when you feel like you are all alone, but I promise that you’re not.
What if it’s not happening to you? What if it’s happening for you?
The story of Joseph’s life is extensive, it has so many twists and turns, and more let downs than anyone could bear. But once he becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, it is clear that everything had to happen. It is clear that it all had to happen so that the will of God could be done in the earth.
But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt. (Genesis 45:5-8 NLT)
If Joseph hadn’t been sold into slavery, he would have never been taken to Egypt. And if he had never been through all of the other obstacles that he faced, he would have never been called before the king. The adversity that he faced made him the person that he was. His trials molded him into the leader that saved a nation. And this is what his brothers didn’t understand. God was trying to preserve their entire family, and their descendants…the Nation of Israel. He made a promise, to their great-grandfather, Abraham, that they would one day inherit the promised land. But God was in the details; He knew the exact time that a famine would come. So in all His wisdom and sovereignty, He orchestrated a pathway to survival. All of this didn’t just happen for Joseph, it happened for them…it happened for their children and their children’s children. God used their jealousy and hatred to preserve their destinies. How powerful is this? That our Creator uses our enemies and our own short comings to push us towards the plan that He has for our lives.
God makes sure that His plan is fulfilled.
Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:12 ESV)
God watches over His word, ensuring that every detail in His plan is fulfilled. This is why we can be confident that all of our disappointments are working for us, and that they are pushing us towards His plan for our lives. But we must turn to Him in our moment of despair. We must give Him our pain, and allow Him to direct our path moving forward.
When we turn to God in our disappointments, we allow Him to use it towards His plan for our lives.
Joseph had disappointment after disappointment, but he never allowed his circumstances to keep him from walking in the will of God. At one point in his journey of being a slave, Joseph was enticed by the wife of his master, and his response, shows his heart towards God.
But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” (Genesis 39:8-9 NLT)
Joseph could have allowed his situation to turn him away from God; but instead, he continued to serve God right where He was. He continued to moved towards God’s plan, in faith. So, this is a choice that we must make, when we are faced with adversity. Will we take in the disappointment, and make our own way out of fear, despair, or desperation? Or will we submit to God in adversity, and allow Him to use it towards our destiny?
I have no idea of the type of adversity that you have faced in your life, but I believe that God will use it to push you towards your destiny, if you will give it to Him…if you will turn to Him. There are some things in your life that had to happen for you to get to where He wants to take you. There are some doors that God must shut, in order for you to see the open door that He wants to take you through.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that God is the cause of all the tragedies that you’ve been through, but even so, He is able to make whatever it is work for you.
God is in control of all the doors in your life
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. (Revelation 3:7-9 NLT)
We don’t usually think of it this way, but open and closed doors often present themselves through relationships. Our relationships provide us with a different perspective, but also opportunity, support, encouragement, comfort, and aid. God uses people to get us to and through different seasons of our lives. So, when we gain a new relationship, a new door of opportunity has been opened. But, the opposite is also true. When we loose a relationship, even if it’s temporary, a door is closed. And I think that this is why the loss (or distance) of some relationships are so hurtful. We reminisce on who that person was to us, and all that they contributed to our lives. And sometimes, we get to the point where we might even feel like that relationship is necessary, in order for us to fulfill our purpose in life. But, we were never meant to be completely dependent on any person for anything. Our God is Jehovah Jireh…He is our provider. He is the one that ensures that we have all that we need. And sometimes, he allows the door to be closed on a relationship so that we will find our strength in Him instead. And other times, it is so that He can push us towards the purpose that He has for us.
We’ve seen this is Joseph’s life. God allowed him to be the favored child that was hated by his own brothers. How do you think this made Joseph feel? He probably felt like an outsider; he probably wished that we could be one of them. But that wasn’t God’s plan for his life. God’s plan wasn’t for Joseph to find strength as part of a band of brothers. God’s plan was for him to be alone, so that He could find the strength of his God. God knew that this was the only way that Joseph would be the man he needed to be. But it was only for a season. Later, God opened the door for Joseph to reunite with his brothers.
Then Joseph added, “Look! You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph! Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.” Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him. (Genesis 45:12-15 NLT)
Our God is a God of the details. He knows exactly who and what you need to become who He’s called you to be. Yes, there maybe be difficult seasons, where you feel let down by those closest to you, but don’t allow the disappointment to take you away from the amazing plan that God has for your life. Don’t allow your destiny to be controlled by who comes and goes. Anchor your destiny to the one that can do anything. Anchor your life to the God that will never leave your side. He said that He will never leave you, nor forsake you. This is not just a promise, this is a fact. Your God has given you favor to do all that He has called you to do. And it isn’t attached to a person, thing, or circumstance. His favor is attached to your faith in Him. It is attached to your obedience to follow and trust in Him, even when you feel alone, even when you don’t see it, because He sees you. He sees every time you steward over your current season in excellence. He sees every time you choose Him, over your fears. And He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So, as you seek Him, and trust in Him, have faith that He is working it all out for your good. Have faith that He will surround you with the people that you need as you walk in purpose. And trust that He will restore the broken relationships in your life, because nothing is too hard for Him.
I know this, because I have lived this. I have been through seasons where I felt like no one understood me, and everyone was against me. But I obeyed God in faith, and He has been faithful to do what He said He would do. And in the process, He has changed hearts, and reconciled relationships. He has allowed my life to bless those that didn’t support me. He has made me a light in the lives of those that didn’t believe. And as I look back, I can see that it had to happen. The heartbreak had to happen. The disappointment had to happen. All of it had to happen so that I could see what God wanted me to see. All of it had to happen so that I could become who God wanted me to be. Every let down was leading me towards Him, and the amazing plan that He had for my life. And I know that He desires to do the same for you. He desires to bring your life full circle…so let Him, by leaning into Him. Even though the path seems unsure, and the road looks dark, with every step, He is bringing you to the place that He has for you. That is a place of light and life. You just have to believe Him for it.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you knew the end before the beginning. You know every detail in my life to come, and you know exactly what I need to become who you have called me to be. Today, I declare that I will trust in your plan…no matter what…regardless of who comes and goes in my life, because I have all that I need in you. You are Jehovah Jireh, my provider. You are the only one that goes before me. You are the only one that has my back, unconditionally. And I know that you will never leave my side. I know that you are watching over my life, to make sure that your will is being done in it. Thank you for your protection. Thank you for your support, and for lifting me up in my time of need. I know that because you are with me, I am walking towards the purpose that you have for my life. And I trust that you will use every heartache and disappointment towards the plan that you have for me. I give you all the glory in advanced. I love you Father. In Jesus' name, amen.
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