The blessing in disguise

So many times in our lives, the situation gets messy, things are turned upside down, everything goes out of control, at least not according to our plans, and it seems like it can’t get any better. But these times can also be a blessing in disguise, a call back from God, an invitation for change, an invitation to go to another level of glory. And it takes faith, it takes courage, it takes guts to accept the situation and shut up, stop asking questions, stop complaining, blindly follow God’s directives and just obey. It takes patience, it takes wisdom, it takes discernment to let Him do the work, let Him act…

In the Bible, there are so many examples of people who thought that God was dealing harshly with them while actually, He was preparing them for a bigger blessing out of their suffering, out of their longing for salvation. First, we have Joseph in the book of Genesis, his father loved Him very much, too much, more than his brothers. Also, he was too talkative, telling everyone about his dreams of glory, further kindling the anger of his brothers. This led them to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. For Joseph, at first glance, everything was lost; far from his father, far from his family, in a foreign land, how could anything great work out for him? How would the promises of God could manifest in his life? But actually, God used this situation to educate Joseph; He taught him discipline, hard work, honesty, loyalty, justice. Moreover, it enabled Joseph to grow closer to God, further practising his gift of dreams’ interpretation. For 13 years, Joseph learned, for 13 years, God taught him, for 13 years, he remained faithful to Him. Joseph's honesty, loyalty and respect for his first master brought him to jail, but his character elevated him there, gaining the confidence of the prison’s keeper. There, God orchestrated the encounter that He would use to restore him, to establish him; he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and baker. After the release and rehabilitation of the cupbearer, Joseph might have thought that he would be released soon. Yet, 2 weeks passed, then, another 2 weeks, again, another 2 weeks and finally, 2 years. During these 2 years, he could have given up, asking God why He was forsaking Him, why his condition was carrying on, stagnating, not improving. Joseph must have questioned again and again the promises of God, wondering if they would at last, come to pass.

However, during these 2 years, God was preparing one heart; He was preparing the heart of Pharaoh, He was preparing the situation that would propel Joseph to his rightful place. And finally, Pharaoh dreamed, and none of his advisors or magicians could interpret his dreams, then, the cupbearer remembered. Joseph was called and he interpreted the dreams. The wisdom, the maturity, the calm, the loyalty that God instilled in Joseph during all these years were discerned by Pharaoh, and thus, he proclaimed Joseph minister. After 13 years, Joseph was finally restored. The famine that started to hit the whole country enabled him to find his brothers, to find his family, to find his father. This famine enabled him to provide for his family and care for them, giving them the land of Goshen as a dwelling place. Then, Joseph understood; these 13 years of doubts, these 13 years of hardships, these 13 years of suffering, were actually allowed by God to teach him, to educate him, to mould him, to prepare him for the blessing that He planned for him well before his birth (Jeremiah 1:5). Joseph forgave his brothers because he knew they were only the instruments that God used to work out His great plan, he forgave his brothers because he surely understood that God actually used them to orchestrate His blessing; he understood that these situations his brothers put him in were allowed by God and that in fact, they were his disguised blessing. Indeed, close to his family, close to such a loving father, but also surrounded by the jealousy of his brothers, his growth would have been inhibited; he would never have reached his full potential because in their eyes, he was too young, he was the favourite child, he was too spoiled, he was too inexperienced, he was too much of a dreamer.

We also have the story of Naomi in the book of Ruth, Naomi thought that God dealt harshly with her, sending her in a foreign land with her family to end up taking away her husband and 2 sons, making her come back to her land empty (Ruth 1:21). She didn’t realise that Ruth was actually her blessing, that she came back even fuller than she left, that she came back with a precious woman, a precious gem. The loyalty of Ruth towards Naomi was indeed extraordinary; Ruth was not living for herself anymore, she was also living for Naomi, working in the fields to get grain, bringing back food for both of them, always thinking about Naomi, taking care of her as a daughter would care for her mother. Ruth was selfless, humble; she forgot herself, she put away her needs, placing them after those of Naomi. Ruth is such a beautiful example of honesty, authenticity, obedience, hard work, compassion, empathy, patience, wisdom, discernment; she was Naomi’s blessing, the one who would bring her joy again in her old age. God saw the heart of Ruth and He blessed her. Her reputation went ahead of her to Boaz, she didn’t have to do anything, she was just being herself, faithful to her character, faithful to her God; choosing Him over her family, over her people, and He blessed her, Boaz redeemed Naomi and Ruth. In the end, Naomi who lost husband and sons was restored, she got a new son through Ruth, a new family, a loving family. Her old days were happy and full. In the end she realised; even though she lost so much away from home, it was necessary, it was a required step, a required hardship, a required process to enter into the fullness of the blessing that God prepared for her and her descendance. These situations Naomi and Ruth had to go through were hard, but they still had to go through these because out of these came their blessing. Now, Ruth belongs to the genealogy of Jesus Christ, her story is in the Bible, her example inspires so many women around the world, she was Naomi’s disguised blessing even though this latter didn’t realise at first.

In our lives, many situations will come, many unexpected circumstances will present themselves. At first, they won’t have the appearance of a blessing, rather, they will seem as a punishment from God. Yet, we need to trust God because He is Lord over us, over any situation, over any circumstances and He himself said in Isaiah 55:8-11 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” […] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (NIV). Hence, we should just commit our ways to Him and trust His process, His teaching, accepting to be disciplined by Him, in his love and mercy (Jeremiah 10:24; Psalm 6:1). We should keep in mind that everything will work out for us according to His great purpose (Romans 8:28).