"Recently the Lord showed me how the Ark that delivered Noah rose higher toward heaven as the floods came upon the earth. In the end, when the floods receded the Ark was resting at the TOP of the mountain. I want you to ride this season of national shaking so that you get closer to heaven as the waters rise and end up at the top of your mountain!"Take a moment and Selah!
Sometimes what seems like adversity when it comes towards us (or we are in the middle of it!), is really meant to be the vehicle to carry us to a destination.
On Eagles Wings
As I "thought on these things," I was reminded of how the eagle, instead of fighting against the storm, flies into it. The eagle allows the winds of the storm to cause it to be lifted up, higher and higher. Rather than fighting the winds of adversity, it causes those very winds to work on its behalf to lift it up.
Isaiah 40:31 tells us,
"Yet those who wait for the LORDThe literal translation of the middle line is, "They will lift up their wings to catch the wind as the eagles do."
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."
The key is, of course, waiting for LORD to gain the new strength that He has for us.
The literal translation of the first two lines is "But waiters for Yahweh will renew power." The word translated "waiters" is the Hebrew word "naar" and it comes from a root meaning "to bind together" and carries the connotation of expectation. It can be translated as "tarry" or "patiently wait" with an implication of gathering or doing so together. (Think of tarrying in the Jerusalem until they were endued with power.)
Unfortunately, we all too often keep trying to run in our own strength - and wonder why the wind keeps driving us backwards!
God Meant It For Good
Another story that comes to mind is that of Joseph. His brothers had captured him and sold him into slavery. But, look at "the rest of the story." Joseph became second in command in Egypt, his entire extended family had all been moved to Goshen, and his father had blessed his sons and died. Now his brothers were sweating. Joseph had treated them kindly while their father was alive, but surely he was "just biding his time" until he could deal with them as they had dealt with him.
Joseph's brothers send him a message saying that their father had left a message for him before he died, asking that he would forgive his brothers for what they had done. Come on, now. If that message had been from Jacob, he would have delivered it to Joseph himself! Good try, guys!
But the beauty of the passage is Joseph's response to the message. The second half of Genesis 50:17 tells us that, "Joseph wept when they spoke to him."
What a picture of true forgiveness. What an example of being able to see "the bigger picture."
Let's finish the story. (Genesis 50:18-21, emphasis added.)
"Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, 'Behold, we are your servants.' But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.' So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them."Joseph had come to realize that the wind of adversity, the very bitter experience that he was forced to endure going from the favored son to a slave at the hands of his own brothers, had been the vehicle to get him to where he needed to be for his dreams to be fulfilled. He realized that in the midst of things seeming to go "from bad to worse," God had manuevered him into position "in order to bring about this present result."
I like the phrase used here: "God meant it for good."
We often quote Romans 8:28 when we are going through a difficult time. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (emphasis added) It is truth ... and I quote it, too!
But the connotation in Genesis 50:20 is different. "God meant it for good."
In Romans 8, God "causes" something that was not a good experience to somehow bring benefit to us. In Genesis 50, God "meant" the result from the beginning.
The same word is used to reference the brothers' intentions and God's intentions. ("As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.") In both cases, it is the Hebrew word "chashab" which comes from a root word that means "to weave" or "to fabricate." The connotation is that you have a purposeful plan, you plot or contrive to do something.
God had a plan that He was weaving from the very start. He was planning to get Joseph where he needed to be - in Egypt! Why? "In order to bring about this present result."
But the story doesn't even end there.
Joseph's destiny - foretold in part in the dreams he had as a youth - wasn't just about him.
Joseph was in Egypt, the one nation that had plenty of food in a time of "world-wide" famine. (Read that: "world-wide crisis.") They had that food because of Joseph's leadership. His leadership ability (including foreknowledge of the famine and what to do about it) was developed in Joseph's faithfulness and obedience to his faithful God through all the years of slavery and prison. Joseph continued to maintain a right relationship with God and view of God's faithfulness when it "looked like" God had forgotten him! (That's a whole other lesson there!)
The result was that Joseph not only saved himself and his immediate family, but he was able to provide for his entire extended family. ("I will provide for you and your little ones.")
But wait ... it's even bigger than that.
God wove together a plan for Joseph's life that was "meant" to save not only Joseph, his immediate family, and all of his extended family, but it was also "meant"by God "to preserve many people alive."
When Joseph as a young man dreamed of the sheaves bowing and of the sun, moon and stars bowing, little did he realize what was truly in store for him. I am sure he did not consider ruling beside an Egyptian Pharoah. Nor did he have any idea of the price he would pay before getting there.
What Will We Do?
Will we let the flood waters carry us higher?
Will we use the winds of adversity to go up higher?
Will we spend timing "waiting for" the Lord, so that we can be renewed with power?
Will we maintain our relationship with God through the difficult times in such a way that we have His answer to the crisis when "the best and brightest" in the land do not?
Will we realize that "it's not all about us" - that there's a bigger picture and a lot more at stake?
Will we be ready with an answer when asked?
Will we give God the glory?
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