There's a lot of bad stuff happening in our world (I don't think I need to list any examples because I'm sure you can come up with them yourself). And this bad. evil, sin, darkness? Oh, how potent it can be.
Recently, I've been noticing all the dark things. I mean, the sun is setting earlier, the leaves are darkening and crumbling, the garden that has become such a respite for me... is withering away before my very eyes.
And yet, there are still a few resilient blooms. New colors on those dying leaves. Wonderful sunsets that I can now experience in my late-afternoon walks.
There is still light, I just have to work a little harder to see it.
Which is why the next motivational mini is, essentially, this reminder. For you, for me, for all of us when we feel overwhelmed by the sheer bad around us.
I wrote this phrase - if we focus on the Light of the World, the dark looks a lot less scary - a couple months ago, when I was studying Joseph (you know, the guy with the rainbow-colored cloak?) for my Fear Fighting book.
He suffered through sibling betrayal, being sold into slavery, was falsely accused of rape and then falsely imprisoned, and yet, God used those painful circumstances to raise him up. Joseph became second-in-command over Egypt, used his God-given dream interpretation abilities to foresee a nasty famine, and ended up not only saving an entire nation from perishing, but reuniting with and redeeming his brothers.
He tells them, in one of my favorite Bible verses of all time, "you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Gen 50:20).
Because here's the thing:
Although his brothers abandoned him (and started this downward spiral that ricocheted into a testament of God's provision), Jospeh knew that he had a Friend who never would. Who would be closer than any earthly brother could be, who would strengthen and nourish him from the inside out (Proverbs18:24).
This Friend sustained him through the dark times, and raised him up… in His time.
Joseph spent his life trusting in and relying on the goodness of God, and then, he urged his brothers to do the same. I urge us to do the same.
Focus on the Light of the Lord, and trust that He will never leave.
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