God knows the end from the beginning, and everything in between. Things just have to be played out in time. But you shouldn’t think there’s nothing you can do in the process. Death alone is inevitable. “Whatever will be will be” unless you change it, and God has given every believer the faith to bring change about.
The future is “ours to see” because God has given us the vision of a better one for our children and our grandchildren. Jacob’s favourite son Joseph spent what others may have seen as wasted years, while waiting for God’s dream-promise to come to pass. The many years between that dream and its fulfillment tested his faith many times.
“You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good,” Joseph informed his wide-eyed brothers who had sold him into slavery. God had used their jealousy to bring about His purpose for the entire family.
Joseph’s journey from God’s promise to Pharoah’s palace by way of a pit, slavery, false accusation and a prison will surely inspire you to overcome the problems that are bound to arise between where you are and where God will bring you.
Joseph’s father and mother, and his brothers, were offended when he told them the dream he’d had, which had depicted him as ruler over them. But in the end, his exalted position in Egypt saved their lives from starvation and ensured their future of their descendants.
So, if you see a visionary ‘in a hole’, don’t throw dirt on him. If you see one in trouble, don’t mock him. If he is accused of something, don’t judge him without knowing the facts. If he’s in prison, don’t write him off. Who knows? One day his dream may come to pass, and you and your loved ones might well be the beneficiaries.
If you’d known his future all along, you would have treated him a lot differently, or spoken better of him when his name came up in conversations. Joseph didn’t know how God would do what He had promised, but he didn’t need to know. All he had to do was believe that somehow, in some way his dreams would be worked out in life as God had promised they would. Meantime, his many situations and circumstances would be as varied as the colours on his multi-coloured coat.
God had factored in Joseph’s integrity, work ethic, morals and abilities, none of which were apparent when he was young and was the spoiled child of his father. “It’s all good” is a nice saying, but it’s only so when God is in control. God’s personal promise to you will test you until it comes to pass, so until it does, make the most of the opportunities that life presents, because in doing so, you will prepare yourself for the amazing outcome!
(Read Genesis, chapters 37 to 47 for the story, and Genesis 50:20 & Psalm 105:17-19 for the spiritual keys.)