Often, when God works something out for our good, it comes with a test of faith. We’re unsure what He’s doing as we stand beside the Red Sea or find ourselves in a lion’s den, staring into the mouths of hungry beasts. Our natural thought is, “How could God possibly bring good out of this terrible situation?”
“The next time you find yourself in a lion’s den, stand on the promise of Romans 8:28. You may see light in a matter of days, or you may have to wait years. But even when you can’t see what God is doing, you can trust Him.”
We see this in Joseph’s life. Everything seemed to go wrong. His brothers turned against him. He was sold into slavery, falsely accused of sexually assaulting his master’s wife, and thrown into prison. Thirteen years passed between his being sold into slavery and his promotion in Egypt. And his suffering was no picnic. The Book of Psalms tells us that his feet were hurt with fetters. Here was an innocent man in painful chains, imprisoned for a crime he hadn’t committed.
But as we turn the pages of Scripture, we see that God was working out His purposes in a wonderful way.
For years, thousands—perhaps millions—of atheists around the world saw me as the perfect example of a brainless moron. You can see that story in “The Fool” on YouTube. Yet, over time, I saw God’s name glorified through that situation. But that deliverance took years.
Recently, however, I saw something negative turn into something positive in a matter of days.
I was interviewing a student at a local college. Beside me was a sign encouraging students to come on camera. A student who didn’t like me ran up, booted my sign with the energy of a football player, and then ran away.
Of course, I grabbed my camera, ran after him, and interviewed him about why he was so angry. I couldn’t reason with him, and after a while, he walked off, still angry.
Yet that angry student did me a great favor. He took an ordinary interview that probably would have received about 50,000 views on YouTube and helped it receive at least another 100,000—all because of his angry outburst.
I couldn’t help but see God’s hand in taking something negative and turning it into something wonderfully positive.
So, the next time you find yourself in a lion’s den, stand on the promise of Romans 8:28. You may see light in a matter of days, or you may have to wait years. But even when you can’t see what God is doing, you can trust Him.
Keep your faith in Jesus Christ. The God who was faithful to Joseph will be faithful to you.
