Trusting God in the middle of traumatic events is a difficult thing. In that moment all you know is pain and suffering. It is a moment when you cry out to the Lord for relief, for some positive sign that he is listening to your prayer. You question God’s wisdom, yet reassurance comes in small ways.
I think of Jacob in Genesis 42 sitting in the midst of a famine. In verse 1-2 he sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain “so that we may live and not die (NASB).” He is still mourning the loss of his son Joseph and is fearful he will lose yet another son: “But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may befall him (verse 4).” Years after he lost his son Joseph he is still mourning and now he is trying to save his family during a famine.
What Jacob does not realize at that moment, as his sons head to Egypt, is that God had been at work for years to save them. Jacob did not realize that his son had been sacrificed to save his family. All he knows is grief as he watches his sons leave for Egypt. Yet it is that moment of grief and loss that sets in motion a new thing that Jacob could not comprehend. He eventually learns that God is watching over them, that he had a plan to save them.
In the midst of our grief, in the middle of our loss, it can be difficult to see or understand God’s plan. We may never know on this earth the reasons for what God lets happen to us. Yet we can trust God that our temporary moments of sorrow are for a purpose — God’s purpose. He may give us a glimpse of that purpose as Joseph said in Genesis 45:7: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance;” and Jacob declared in Genesis 46:30: “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.” Neither one lived to see God’s greater plan, the Exodus from Egypt.
© 2021 CGThelen
140 Character Christian 
What a wonderful word of hope. Thank you.
Praise God for His love and grace. Blessings.
I love the story of Joseph and God’s perfect plan. So many points along the way where if Joseph had received what he wanted, things would not have worked out. Something to remember when things don’t go our way. 😉
Yes, Joseph is such a good example of things not going his way, in order to go God’s way. Thanks for the comment. Blessings.
It really helps if we have that inner conviction that God cares about us, and is active in our life and circumstances, even if we cannot see it at this moment in time. People like Joseph are a great inspiration when we are in the midst of the storm.
Well said. Maintaining a relationship with God is so important.
Yes
This is a great reminder that God’s good work on our behalf is not always visible to us. The answer may not even appear in our lifetime. But the eyes of faith can keep our focus in the right place.
Thank you, CG. I needed this today!
Yes, sometimes it is hard to understand God’s plan. It is a matter of faith — of trusting Hod. Thanks for the comment. Blessings.