How To Be Content In Adversity

Sometimes when good things are happening to us we want the whole world to know about it and we can’t wait to share with others. Though others may outwardly congratulate us, are they really happy for us, or is that happiness tinged with jealousy? Do you find that sometimes when you are ill people seem to be more genuinely there for you than when you are well?  What is it within us that that brings out such characteristics?

Silence

When something good happens to us perhaps it is better to keep it to ourselves, dwell on it for a while, and eventually the Lord will lead us to reveal it  at the proper time and in the proper way. I say this because I wonder how things would have turned out for Joseph if he had not told his brothers about his dreams in the manner that he did. Joseph did what many of us do. He was probably so excited to share, that he did not stop to think about how his words may affect his brothers.

 

Jealousy

Joseph’s brothers didn’t think too kindly of him, because of the favoritism that was showed to him by their father. Now here he was sharing his dreams with them which made them hate him even more. The dreams showed Joseph in a place of authority over them, and they was something they didn’t want to hear.

 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷ There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸ And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Genesis 37:6-8

The brothers already hated him for his beautiful coat, now here he was telling them of his dreams. So they plotted how to get rid of Joseph for good. Up to this point Joseph had no doubt spend most of his time at home with his father Jacob. He was pampered and well cared for and given the best of every thing and now the brothers wanted him gone for good.

Trials

When we are undergoing hardships it’s okay to turn to others for support. Before being thrown in the pit, Joseph more than likely had never experience any hardships in his life. Now here he was in a dark pit, with no one to rely on but God, and this God allowed for a reason. With Joseph being at home with his father Jacob all the time, he had to know who God was, since Jacob was such a mighty man of God. Further more his two dreams had to have been given to him from God. Now I can just envision him in the pit, praying to God and asking for him to get him out of that situation without being eaten alive by wild animals.

Betrayed

God answered Joseph’s prayers, as he wasn’t eaten by wild animals, but his trials were still far from over. Not only was Joseph sold by his brothers like modern day human traffickers, but what now lay before him could be even worse treachery at the hands of strangers. We all go through the fiery furnace in our lives, and this had to be Joseph’s furnace. Perhaps now Joseph realized that some things were best kept to himself, to be pondered over before God and we know that God was with him.

Dishonesty

Once again trouble befalls Joseph. I’ve always admired the way Joseph withstood this temptation and wondered how many men would have reacted the way Joseph did to Potiphar’s wife. He resisted being seduced by her, and he was concerned that he would be sinning first and foremost against God. Of course as the story goes, the wife lied and as a result his master had him thrown into prison. Yet again another trial to get through, but the good news is that when we walk with God we are never alone, so even though it may have appeared that Joseph was alone in that dark prison cell, God was with him.

Open Doors

When we walk closely with God, it doesn’t matter what others may try to do to us, because whatever bad thing has been said or done, God has a way of turning it into good. Not only did Joseph’s dreams got him into trouble, but not it was his interpretation of dreams that would set him free. Of course he was only able to interpret the dreams because of the wisdom God had gifted him with.

Contentment

What could have been a very hard life for Joseph, was mad a little softer by his acquaintance with God. Instead of looking outward of the misery and the darkness that surrounded his, Joseph’s situation seemed to have been made easier, because he had the sense to look upward toward his Almighty God. In looking upward and keeping focus on the Almighty Living God, Joseph was filled with a sense of peace. When he did finally emerge from his prison cell, he was gracious instead of angry. As a result of serving God so closely he was able to show true love and kindness, even to the very ones who had meant to harm him.

It pays to serve God no matter how dismal our situations may look. He may not come through today or tomorrow, but He will come through. It is in our darkest moments that He will reveal Himself to us. So whatever hardship you may be facing right now, patiently wait on God. The situation may not change, but within that situation, He will take your sorrowful heart and give you one of joy. He will take your difficulty and give you ease. So in order to have contentment in adversity, keep your focus continually looking upwards to God.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: Philippians 4:11

© 2019 Leola Durant