Becoming Strong Pillars
God is preparing us to become strong pillars that will help others stand but if we don’t look beyond our present moments of struggle, we may never fulfil the purpose for which we were destined.
Meditate on these:
Genesis 39:22 - Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.
2 Corinthians 1:4 - He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
Some years back, I went for a solemn retreat. On one of the days, I stood on the balcony and was lost in thought, and my attention was drawn to the fence. The side of the fence I was facing was covered with those plants that are referred to as Climbers.
The fence stood as a support for the plants to grow and find expression.
This illustration is a reminder that many of us have different assignments to become support systems to someone else at some point.
If we fail to stand firm in our faith or we fail to pay the price for our destiny, then there’s a high probability that someone’s life will be affected by our inaction.
Wherever God has placed us, we must make the best of it. Even the hard times are for a purpose and we need to look beyond our current circumstances in order to catch a glimpse of the big picture.
While in prison, if Joseph was very gloomy because of his current predicament instead of being focused or diligent, he would not have become a leader there and probably would have missed the opportunity to interpret any dreams.
For someone like him who had been sold off by his brothers and was again convicted for something he didn’t do, you’d expect that his experience would affect his countenance and his outlook on life but it didn’t.
Instead right there in the prison, he depicted diligence and was put in charge of other prisoners. He also used his talent to interpret the dreams of two prisoners.
If he hadn’t looked past his current predicament, he may never have had the chance to leave that prison because the butler would not have known about his talent. In the long run, he would not have become prime minister of Egypt and would have been unable to save his father and siblings from the famine that eventually hit the land.
God is preparing us to become strong pillars that will help others stand but if we don’t look beyond our present moments of struggle, we may never fulfil the purpose for which we were destined.
Reflection: Is there an experience in your life that is holding you back from making the best out of your present situation? Can you identify any areas where you can support someone else and make their lives easier or better?