Year of Realization - Day 2: Our personal struggle may be working for a greater good.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Without a doubt, the go-to story in terms of seemingly contrary personal circumstances working toward God’s desired end, is the story of Joseph. After having been given visions of grandeur, Joseph is sold into slavery by his own brothers, put in jail by “a woman scorned,” then seemingly forgotten about after having prophesied a good ending for a fellow prisoner.

The good news: it all turned out for Joseph just as the Lord had showed him. But remember, although the promise was to Joseph, it wasn’t primarily for his benefit. Indeed, his persecution and subsequent exaltation worked for the greater purpose of saving the children of Israel!

In our opening scripture we see Joseph expressing his realization that all that had happened to him was for a greater good. Indeed, that greater good was the saving of the children of Israel through whom the Messiah was to come.

The general human tendency is to see everything from the perspective of our own lives. After all, the life we are living is not that of others, but our own. Yet, as part of God‘s plan, the things that happen to us are often working toward a greater good, often working toward a benefit for many others. However—in terms of eternity—those who have submitted their lives to God’s greater good will be greatly rewarded; and sometimes, part of that reward even comes while we are still in this life.

The story of Esther will definitely illustrate the greater good paradigm. And, we will talk much more about that in the coming days. For today let’s look at how Esther ended up being born in a foreign land, under the rule of foreign leaders.

Long before the time of Esther, the children of Israel (later called Jews) had been dispersed throughout the Near East by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Subsequently, the Persians annexed nearly all of these territories into their empire, achieving its greatest reach during the time of Esther.

Bear in mind, Haman’s plot to irradicate the Persian Empire of all Jews, would have annihilated most of the Jews. Therefore, Esther’s willingness to act, saved the whole nation from complete destruction.

As we are facing this year we must understand that we must not allow ourselves to become nearsighted, seeing only our own drama, our own struggle, our own need. Rather, we must—no matter where we find ourselves, and no matter under whose rule we may suffer—remain open to the Lord using our lives to work for the greater good of His plan.

As we understand it at this time, it would seem that the most pressing part of God’s plan is the giving of a final witness to a world gone mad through the light and direction coming from those who belong to the Lord and who are preparing for His soon coming.

There is no limit to what God can do through you if you will submit your life as a living sacrifice to be used according to His will and purpose. We will be reminded of the often breathtaking scope of the wisdom of God‘s plans as we further examine the paradigm of Esther.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming. Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization