Meanwhile: Meeting God in the WaitSample
In the end, Joseph experienced reconciliation in his family, which should give all of us great hope. The story of Joseph is meant to deliver the unmatched expectation that family restoration is part of your future. His story offers a prophetic picture for anyone whose family has been torn apart by sin and misunderstanding. Eventually, God will write the end of each of our stories. Never doubt it.
The baton has been passed and it now lies in your hands. Will you receive it with joy? Will you resolve to live each of your remaining days as a believer who refused to be identified by circumstances or pain, but by the God whom you serve?
Do you believe God will do for you what He did for Joseph? The Father is able to take every bad event in your meanwhile and use it for a greater good. Joseph never would have saved a nation from starvation had he not been trapped in a meanwhile. The “good” God extracts from a sordid evil is far greater than that which a peaceful, uneventful life could ever create.
You may be going through a meanwhile in your own life. As God is working in the meanwhiles of life, the wait can feel vicious, agonizing, and cruel. How we act, speak, and emote during the meanwhile seasons of life are of vital importance to the plans and purposes of the Father. Joseph deserved to be mean and angry in prison, but he chose to encourage those around him. Joseph deserved to grow bitter due to extreme mistreatment, but he chose to serve others with an unselfish heart instead.
When we trust the kind heart of the Father and give Him the time to transform our meanwhile, He will write the end of our stories. I have heard it said that if your story is not good, then God is not finished with it yet. While you are in the meanwhile, stay filled with faith and look at the events of your life from a historical perspective. Your meanwhile, like Joseph’s, is about to become your miracle!
I would love to hear from you and pray for your needs. Please write to me at carol@carolmcleodministries.com.
This plan contains excerpts from Carol’s complete Bible study, “Meanwhile.” If you would like to pursue the full study, go to: www.carolmcleodministries.com for more information and for other great resources.
About this Plan
Meanwhile is the test of faith between a crisis and God’s visible intervention. I have learned that often a meanwhile can produce a mighty long and incredibly challenging mean-while. Such is the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. The historical account of this young man will convince you that when God is involved, He is more than able to turn your meanwhiles into miracles…just as He did for Joseph.
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