By Mark A. Taylor
For the person enduring dark times, the biblical story of Joseph can be an inspiration.
As a young man he went from favored son to captured slave to a position of authority to years in prison and then, finally, to his place as the second-in-command to the Egyptian pharaoh. When my men”s Bible study looked at his life, we focused on the happy ending to Joseph”s many years of recurring disappointments and confusion. What”s the lesson for our lives today? Our study guide pointed us to a verse Christians love to quote: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
We thought of times in our own lives when dark days paved the way for a path brighter than we could have imagined. Disappointments gave way to a happy outcome. God”s “no” preceded his eventual provision of what we really needed instead.
But not every believer”s story ends as happy as Joseph”s.
A man gives up a seamy life of sin for an honorable profession that earns him half of what fraud and deceit had been paying him. He struggles to survive on the lower income.
A woman prays consistently about her own Christian service but loses her place of ministry. She wrestles with doubt, depression, and anger as she seeks another way to serve.
A promised pension turns out not to be there.
An incurable disease sidelines a successful career.
In the face of such trials, we may quote Romans 8:28 and hope for better days ahead. But the notion that obeying God always eventually brings physical reward doesn”t come from the Bible. Consider that Romans 8:28 can be translated more than one way. Some suggest: “In all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good.” Another possibility: “God works in all things for the good.”
But “what is good” may not be good for me. And “the good” may be a broader good than my circumstances today, which actually are very bad.
If so, we”re in good company with the patriarchs, the prophets, and the apostles who suffered as they lived in the center of God”s will.
Jesus told his disciples, “In this world you will have trouble.” We need not be disillusioned or disappointed if his prediction comes true for us. He himself was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3).
In our dark days, we can hold onto the hope that life for us may eventually turn out like Joseph”s. But if it doesn”t we can look to Jesus, who said, “Take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
A most necessary point — well said! And the editorial for this month’s magazine opened the way, briefly and nicely, for what would follow.