Sometimes when we go through…

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Sometimes when we go through…

He was kidnapped from his home by his brothers and sold as a slave. In his master’s house, he was falsely accused and then thrown into prison for years. While in prison he was able to be of help to people, but the person who promised to be of help to him forgot all about him. He knew the depths of despair and disappointment. It would have destroyed a lesser man but Joseph managed not only to survive but emerge victorious.

Sometimes when we go through heartache and disappointment, the cause is hard to understand. We wonder what brought it about and agonize on what we could have done to warrant such ill-treatment and pain. At times it may be from an affliction from the devil, it may be a consequence of something we have done unknowingly or are still unwittingly doing and at other times it may be part of the birth pains in the process of producing something glorious (like what happened to Joseph in the bible). When such things happen, we need to consecrate ourselves to pray and fast, and ask the Holy Spirit to shine light into the situation and illuminate the source of the problem. We need to search the word and apply God’s promises to the situation and pronounce it daily.

However we must attempt the temptation to dwell for too long over the question ‘why?’. Or its various variants ‘why me?’, ‘why now?’, ‘why this way?’. If we pray and do not immediately receive insight into what the root cause might be, we should trust God to work it out and seek for wisdom on how to move on. Beating ourselves up on the question ‘why?’ can drag us into self-pity and bog us down in a slough of despondency. If we have assured ourselves that we are walking rightly and have a clear conscience in all our dealings, then we can trust in God to judge the matter and bring justice for us.

It is also very important to let go of all grudges and release everybody that might have offended us, as such ill feeling often create a loophole for the enemy to deprive us of grace. Jesus said this clearly when he asked us to forgive those who offend us for even so would the heavenly Father forgive us our own wrongs.

Again we must ensure that we do not ascribe too much power to the devil, for though his power is real and strong, God is in ultimate control and will never allow anything to befall us that is more than we can bear. He will also equip us with the grace to handle anything that may befall us, triumph in it and emerge as better, stronger people. Thus we must cultivate a habit of praising God in all circumstance. This is not living in denial or trying to overcome a bad occurrence by forgetting about it. Rather rejoice about it with faith in God that it will give birth to something beautiful, because God is able to make all things work together for good in the end.

By Ifeoluwa Odedina