“If we take Joseph out of prison before he interprets Pharaoh’s dream, Egypt dies, and the Jews in Egypt die. This is what happens when we read the Bible in past tense. And that happens when we look at persecution through the eyes of Western forms of democracy, rather than through a theology of suffering. In the Bible, persecution is normal. The Bible is in present active tense, and there are times when God needs Joseph in prison for the sake of the Kingdom of God.”
NIK RIPKEN
Much is happening in our world that has captured the attention of the many. From the photos of a grieving father cradling his dead teenage son’s head, to the long lines of refugee’s trying to escape, to the political banter, it is chaos. But is it? Does the chaos control us or does the control of God persuade us?
My friend and the author of the “Insanity of God,” Nik Ripken, gives us much to think about in his quote above. We do not suffer well in The West. My parents and grandparents suffered well. Did they like it? No. But they lived well in the suffer- ing. They endured MANY wars and The Great Depression, and they buried family members who would die from things that we now have experienced the cures for. They ate simply, made ALL that they would wear, grew what they would eat in small backyard gardens, and generously served each other out of their own needs.
Suffering is an opportunity to practice JOY. I know that sounds odd, but it is. JOY is the centerpiece of God’s grace. It is what spills from the life of one who has experienced true relationship with Jesus. It does not eradicate grief and pain and loss, but it is what magnificently expresses that we have discovered God’s love and that we trust Him and that He is enough.
Sadly, we preempt God’s amazing plan(s) and we rescue the Joseph’s in our lives that God desired to use to advance His Kingdom. May we ALL beg God for His wisdom and His discernment in these times to trust Him even in our suffering so that the Joseph’s in our lives can be free to fulfill God’s GREAT PLAN for His GREAT PURPOSES.
Does the chaos control us or does the control of God persuade us?
