Day 16: Holding On To God's Promise in the Wilderness

“Close every door to me, keep those I love from me, darken my daytime, and shut out my night. Just give me a number, instead of my name, forget all about me and let me decay. For I know I shall find my own peace of mind, for we have been promised a land of our own.”

My brother and I would see who could sing these lyrics higher than the other in my house growing up. If you weren’t raised in a musical-theater-loving home like I was, those lyrics were famously sung by Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat. He sang it as his character, Joseph, was in prison after everything he ever had was taken from him. I had no idea how important those lyrics, and that story, would become for me.

Even in the worst situations, Joseph lived as a man of integrity and faith. He trusted that God would be with him no matter his situation. As anyone who has walked with the Lord for a long time will tell you, doing the godly thing does not fix all of your problems right away. But Joseph knew that the point of serving the Lord isn’t the outcome, but that He is deserving of our obedience no matter what.

After years of wrongful imprisonment, he is given an opportunity to interpret two other inmates’ dreams. Breakthrough—finally. This was it. He interprets them correctly and is certain that the cupbearer would sing his praises to Pharaoh. This was his road out and into prophetic fulfillment. All the signs pointed to it. And… to say he was wrong would itself be wrong. This was a sign, and it was a true moment of breakthrough in his life. He didn’t misunderstand what God was doing… He just misinterpreted it. Sound familiar?

“After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile…” Genesis 41:1

Two more years… of waiting… of hoping… of believing that God had not abandoned him.

I wonder where you are in your timeline of waiting on God. A few hard weeks? A handful of awfully long months? Years? Decades? Why does God allow this? Contrary to what we often think, our lives are not just about us. There is a bigger picture, a plan that is larger than us. We see that, clearly, when we get to the very end of Joseph’s story and see the way all the pieces finally fit together. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

I want to encourage you today, to take time and reflect on previous seasons of waiting that have taken place in your life. Can you look back and see why God's timing was so? Where in your life do you need to open your hands and trust Him right here, in the waiting? Finally, create space to ask the Lord where He is moving in your life that you cannot see right now.

He’s on the move.


PRAY:
Jesus, I want to trust you more—even in the midst of waiting and longing. I believe you will bring fulfillment to the promises over my life and I trust that you will do it YOUR way, not mine. Help my heart to rest in Your nature, remembering that You never lie and you never fail. Thank you for working all things together for my good and being King over my life. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.