Hindsight is 20/20. But we don’t yet see how everything in our life is working together as we live life one day at a time. We might even start to lose heart until we realize God was preparing us for something greater.
To be fair, Joseph had dreams of what was to come. However, this was a dim vision, and he still had to endure betrayal and years in prison before being freed and elevated to his position of power and influence. But looking back he could see how God’s hand was with him – preparing him to be God’s instrument of salvation for his people.
While we might not have dreams in the same way Joseph did, we do have faith. And it’s with this faith we trust God is likewise preparing us beforehand for his glory, even through the ordinary aspects of life.
For instance, we might not realize at the time how our first job, college roommate, or a family vacation works into God’s plan for us. And this is certainly the case when we face the sudden death of a loved one, a job loss, or a chronic disease. Such events might seem random and meaningless, or outright cruel and unfair. Either way, they seem like isolated chapters in our story.
But, at just the right time, God brings these seemingly disconnected events together and we realize how he was using them to prepare us beforehand. And we would not be prepared to speak into issues, comfort others, or bring the full weight of our unique strength to bear had we not gone through what we did. We were going through God’s own personal training and education program for us without realizing it.
Like Joseph, we might not know the particular work God is preparing us for, but by faith we trust God is at work in our story – through the ups and downs, the profound and the mundane.
In the end, the events of your life are not meaningless. God is preparing you beforehand for even greater works in his kingdom.
Photo by Wil Stewart on Unsplash
