Monday, April 21, 2008

The Pit...The Prison...Then The Palace

Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

We have no right to expect the child of God to suffer. If Christ is our example...and if He suffered...shouldn't we suffer also?

Genesis 37:24 "And the took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it." Joseph had done nothing wrong yet his brothers wanted to kill him. Sometimes our troubles and trials are as a result of something we've done that we shouldn't have. There will also be times that we go through things that were no fault of ours. No matter the reason for our troubles...they are designed to teach us and to help us.

Joseph was a very good example to us. His brother first put him in a pit. You will not find him complaining or being critical of others because of his circumstances. After he was freed from the pit...he the then went to prison. Genesis 39:20 "And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison." This was also to no fault of his own. God was always with him though. Genesis 39:21 "But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." He never left him or forsook him. We too have that promise. Hebrews 13:5b "...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Joseph had no idea why he was going through what he was going through. Although it was very difficult...he remained faithful to the Lord. Eventually he ended up in the palace.

We all want the palace or God's blessings on our life but we aren't willing to go through the pit or the prison experience. We cannot have the palace experience without first going through the difficult times. If it weren't for those difficult times we would not appreciate the palace.

Not everyone makes it out of their difficulty. Sometimes God chooses not to deliver us from it. Some give up just short of the palace (God's blessing). Sometimes it is just meant for us to suffer.

Serving the Lord is not always easy or comfortable. But if we remain faithful to God...He will reward us. There is a ministry in going through our problems. There may be someone later on that will go through what you're going through. God desires for you to use the testimony of how God brought or is bringing you through to encourage them and help them.

Don't give up!! You may be in the pit or in the prison right now....but remain faithful and you will receive and experience the palace.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

What a wonderful comparison, Sis. Julie!!! I have been in all of these places at some point in my spiritual walk! Praise the Lord for all of them :-) because through each, I see Him!!!

Kate

Sis. Julie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Sis Julie,
It was so good to see you and your family yesterday. It is always good to be around people of like faith. I feel closer to my church and campmeeting family than to my physical family. You have been on my heart and in my prayers since last night. I promise to pray for wisdom for you and your husband, and for the situation we talked about. That is a hard road that I wish someone would have stopped me from going down 20 years ago. Oh, to go back in time! I came across some verses in my Bible reading and I thought of you, Proverbs 21:21 and II Timothy 3:15. If you ever need me for anything all you have to do is ask. I am just a phone call away. You will be in my prayers.

Sis Tami

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Kate....I have too!! I can honestly say that I have learned much from those situations too. And the palace experience that came after each one was such a blessing.

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Tami...Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I edited it so as to protect the situation we talked about and also to protect your email address from being published. It was a real blessing seeing you and everyone else last night as well. I really enjoyed the time we had in service and before and after. We pray for y'all and your church when we pray for our missionaries.

I love and appreciate you and our friendship!!!

PamelaK said...

"You will not find him complaining or being critical of others because of his circumstances."

This really spoke to me personally, Sis Julie, but the entire devotional was a blessing as well. Thank you for the wonderful post.

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Pamela...I'm glad it blessed your heart and helped you. My husband preached that message at the church we were at Sunday evening and it really helped me and others too.

Jimena said...

Great post Sis.Julie! Thanks for the reminder. Hope you are all feeling at home in your new home.. it's beautiful by the wayl you have a wonderful home... what a blessing!

Blessings to you all...

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Jimena...Thank you so much!! Its good to hear from you!! I pray all is well with you and Bro. Raphael.

Kristi said...

I love your posts and am always blessed by them, but I have to say this one just truly blessed my heart tonight. Thank you for sharing it!

~Kristi

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Kristi....Praise the Lord!! I'm glad to know it helped you. Love you!!

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