Recently I was having a conversation with a friend about some of the challenges he was facing. Whether it’s business, health, financial, or anything else we hold dear, when we face challenges it is easy to ask the question – why is this HAPPENING?! (emphasis on happening, in the way you would hear a 4 year old lament when their juice box spills).
As I pondered this more, I was reminded that a proper response would be to ask God – WHY is this happening? (emphasis on why)
I crave peace and comfort. My temporal self tells me that the definition of peace is the absence of conflict. When adverse circumstances come into my life, my initial reaction is to try and get rid of them as quickly as possible. The Bible, however, reminds us that trials and tribulations are brought into our lives for our good and for God’s glory.
Joseph had a clear understanding of this principle. Even though he had been betrayed by his brothers, even though he had been falsely accused, even though he was forgotten by men, he understood that God was at work in the circumstances of his life, whether they seemed favorable or unfavorable.
Instead of focusing on the circumstances themselves, Joseph chose to focus on how God was at work – his mind was on the why. In Genesis 50:20, when his brothers are fearful that vengeance is finally coming their way, Joseph tells them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Joseph’s heart was set on God’s purposes, not his circumstances.
The New Testament has much to say on this as well. In Romans 5, we are told to “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame.”
James 1 reminds us to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The world tells us that when suffering or trials come into our lives, we should do all that we can to remove them as quickly as possible.
The Bible, however, reminds us to view our circumstances as coming from the sovereign hand of God. Rather than immediately trying to find our way out, let us instead turn to God and see how he may be working in our lives to sanctify us and bring about endurance, character, and hope.
The next time an adverse circumstance comes into your life, pray and ask God to help you focus on the why instead of the happening.
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