Meanwhile: Meeting God in the WaitSýnishorn

Have you ever thought you might die of a broken heart? Have you ever supposed you might not take another breath due to the magnitude of your emotional pain? Anyone who has lived to the ripe old age of 30 knows what I am referencing. Your wound might have been conceived due to “the other woman” or because of betrayal by a close family member. Perhaps the excruciating moment of unspeakable pain was ushered into your life through infertility, a health crisis, or a tragic accident. For Joseph’s father, Jacob, it was the awful realization that something horrific had happened to his son.

The structure of his dysfunctional family had been ripped apart. Nothing would ever be the same for Jacob. Instead of 12 strapping sons, only 11 remained alive. Where Joseph used to sit at the family table, grief sat in his seat. Not only had Joseph’s varicolored coat been destroyed but so had camaraderie, the joy of unity, and the power of hope. Was this the end of their story? Would this family shrivel up and die due to the grossly poor choices of the older brothers? What would happen now to the household of Jacob?

Genesis 37:36 is perhaps one of the most powerful scriptures in the entire Old Testament. On this one verse hinges the power of God to turn bad into good, evil into benevolent, and loss into gain. Meanwhile. When your world has fallen apart, never forget that there is a meanwhile. When all you see with your naked eye is death, remind yourself of the meanwhile. If your world has suddenly morphed into grief and the black pit, restore your soul with this one word - meanwhile. When life has treated you unfairly there is a meanwhile going on behind the scenes of your life.

Joseph could have remained at home as a little shepherd boy taking care of his daddy and his brothers. He could have embraced the identity of a person with no eternal significance, and then you and I would have never known his name. However, our God, who is a genius at everything, was able to take the injustice of his situation and turn it into a magnificent advantage, not only for Joseph, but for an entire nation. God used the cruel treatment of hard-hearted family members, added in His prevenient grace, and miraculously transformed it into history-shaping events.