Letting Go of Why

  Do you ever find yourself wondering why things happen?  Maybe you question the way the world is, suicides, shootings, anger and hatred seem to be on the news every day.  Maybe you question circumstances in your own life or in the life of someone close to you.  Often times we are plagued with the age old question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  But as we look around at life's seeming injustices or at the condition of our world, we have to remember that there are two forces at work.  There is a force of evil which desires to "steal, kill, and destroy."  But there is also a force of Good which seeks that we might "have life and have it more abundantly."  (John 10:10)
   I was reminded yesterday about the story of Joseph in the Bible.  Joseph was a man who had every reason to ask God "Why?"  He was stripped of his position and his possessions as a young man and thrown into a pit in the desert, only to be pulled out and sold into slavery in a foreign country.  His own brothers did this to him.  Later, after years of working as a slave to a man named Potiphar, he had finally proven his worth and gained a position of power.  He was second in command of a large Egyptian household.  But he was sabotaged yet again.  Falsely accused, he was robbed of his position once more and sent to prison.  He spent years in prison, during which time he could have become bitter and discouraged, but he held on to his faith.  Eventually, through his visions from God, he became associated with Pharaoh, was taken out of prison, and given the position of second in command of all the land of Egypt.  And it was this position which allowed him to rescue not only the land of Egypt, but his entire family (the ones who sold him into slavery all those years ago) from starvation and destruction through seven years of famine.  (Genesis 37-50)  Looking at the whole picture of Joseph's life, we can see that his circumstances were leading him to exactly where he needed to be and preparing him to be the man who could rescue an entire nation.  But in midst of all those circumstances, Joseph couldn't see what was coming next.  He simply had to trust that God's plan would work out for good in the end.  I think part of the reason God dedicated an entire 13 chapters to the story of Joseph is so we could be reminded that in our life we may have terrible circumstances, and we may not understand them, but if we will remain in faith, God will use those circumstances for good.
  Cheryl McGuinness, the wife of the Co-pilot of one of the American Airlines flights which crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, said it this way, "I believe that his [God's] purposes are greater than we can begin to comprehend, and the answers to our questions are often far beyond our ability to understand."  (Taken from Cheryl's book, Beauty from Ashes)  We have a great God, and even in the midst of our darkest days, He will never abandon us.  Do not lose hope if you are facing difficult times.  The enemy tries to use our circumstances to destroy us, but God uses them to do great and amazing things we never could have anticipated.  Do not grow weary in well doing my friend.  God has a great plan for your life.  I pray you know how much you are loved.  Make this a great week!  I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.W.