Fruitful in Suffering

Today, February 4, 2006, is another day that the Lord has kept me! It is about 1:05 p.m. on a windy Saturday afternoon. My family has been in Florida all week. Bobby’s job sent him and his family. This was a nice little outing for them but it was also a good thing for me to be able to have the house to God and me. I had already asked the Holy Spirit for another book title but I needed to get in position to hear from God. On August 8, 2005, I began reading through the Bible again. I said again because there have been times I have read the Bible and the words left me empty. I am learning to ask God, “What do You want me to learn today?” I didn’t want to keep giving up too soon. I knew that there was something else He wanted me to know. So, I began a search that day in Genesis. I finished studying the book of Genesis on August 14, 2005. I had my title for my next book and I knew that I wanted to follow the life of Joseph first and see how he was used by God. Joseph was a bearer of news that sounded good to him but his brothers didn’t want to hear it. They already felt that Joseph was getting all of the attention because he was the youngest. This did not stop Joseph from being a tale-teller. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers. These were the sons of Bilham and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought his father a bad report about them. (Genesis 37:2) When you want the attention of a family member or friend, sometimes you want to tell or even brag about something that may be happening in your life. When you get the opportunity to do so, you may be sent to find that friend or like Joseph, his brothers. I know all Bible readers know the story of Joseph so I’m not going to tell it word for word. I only want to write what the Holy Spirit gives me. I just want you to know that whatever you are going through, God will give you favor. God can still use you! You may be like Joseph, who had a certain way of flaunting his gift. Yet Joseph didn’t let them stop him from telling his dreams. Joseph’s coat of many colors caused his brothers to not want to see him coming. A lot of trials and setbacks lay ahead for Joseph, but he didn’t give up. The danger of giving up too soon will cause you to miss out on being used by God. God is looking for some sufferers! God will give you favor when you have been hated and ostracized. God has a way of making it up to you. The more people persecute you, the more God opens doors for you. Joseph brothers sold him into slavery for telling his dreams. They plotted against his life for telling his dreams. It was his dreams that bothered them. They didn’t stop to think that God gave him the dreams. So, Joseph suffered from the hands of his brothers. Little did they know that they were pushing Joseph to the top. What was meant for evil, or should I say, what they meant for evil, God meant it for good. I would like to look at my life again. Sometimes God has to get you out of the house. Sometimes we suffer defeat by flaunting our gift too soon. I’m guilty! How about you? I could have lost my mind but God delivered me. You see, there is a difference between blessed and free. When you are not free, you can’t enjoy the blessings of God. No pain, no gain. When you are searching for that missing link and it seems like no one wants to be bothered with you, God will turn your life around. He will let you be fruitful in the midst of your suffering. He will turn children and situations around, and he will take a mess and turn it into a message. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth in his way.” (Psalm 37:23) When you delight yourself in the Lord, you can shout unto God right in the middle of suffering. You may need a lot polishing before the time comes but God will stay with you until the end. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, they carry out their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7) It is how God sees us that matters. The wicked will be overthrown but the house of the righteous will stand forever (Proverbs 12:7). Be a conqueror over what is trying to conquer you. Just remember, the things that have been spoken over your life will be tried. What happened with Joseph turned out for his good. God’s word tells us, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). I see Joseph running along in the field looking for his brothers. So he [Israel] said to him, go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks and bring a word back to me. Then he [Israel] sent him off from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked “What are you looking for?” (Gen. 37:14-15) When Joseph caught up with his brothers, there was no joyous occasion. They rejected him all the more. (They had seen the coat of many colors from a distance). They were already plotting what to do with him. Joseph’s coat had already caused isolation from his brothers; therefore, to see him coming, added more fuel to the fire. Joseph could have said that he hoped his dreams come true or he could have secretly wished that they would have come true but he wanted to be accepted by his brothers. He just went about it the wrong way.