The Bigger Picture

Joseph.  The one with the fancy coat.  That’s the one.  I’m learning big lessons from him lately.  

I’ve been studying his dreamer mentality, his imprisonment, his rise to power, and his exuberant forgiveness.  He was traded off by his own family, falsely accused, put in prison, forgotten by those around him, and used up for his wisdom. 

Deep down, I want him to say to his brothers, “I told you so!”  I want him to put them in the very prison where he lived for several years.  I want to hear him saying to God, “Where are you in this? What did I do to deserve this?”

But, hey, that’s just me.  I hear none of it from him. 

We never hear him question God or ridicule his brothers.  We never see him retaliate, seek vengeance or harbor bitterness. He never murders anyone or takes multiple wives like his forefathers.  Some label him as spoiled in his early years, but even that is open for debate.  From Scripture, we learn that he was responsible, full of integrity, trusted by his employers, and always gave God credit for his success.

He seemed to recognize God’s greater plan was superior to his immediate circumstances.

He trusted the Bigger Picture. 

Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is trust in the time period beyond what we can see.  I get so caught up in my little corner of the universe, my little blip in time, that I forget that there are millennia in motion, not just my handful of decades. Everything doesn't revolve around the right now.

God used all of the circumstances in Joseph’s life for a greater good. He even had a purpose for allowing the bad years.  Joseph would rise to power, save the land, and share his prosperity with the very brothers that sold him out.  His life and circumstances helped to grow God’s chosen people from a remnant to an army.  God was at work even during the prison time and famine. All of it was a part of His grand plan. Yes, even the bad.

Yesterday I saw her for the first time. Her black hair and gorgeous features blew me away. The little one who had been given to my friend through adoption rested in my arms.  This friend that had grieved for several years over not being able to have a child of her own now held her new daughter and beamed with new-momma love.  I had talked with her several times in the midst of her deepest pits.  God had kept her forefront on my mind and my prayer list because of my own bout with infertility. 

I was holding in my arms the much-bigger picture.

All the tears, all the negative-test months, all the appointments, all the grief, and all the wonderings over why she couldn’t be a mother were now a memory.  All of them were tucked away as lessons learned and growth explored.  This baby was the bigger story she had dreamed about for a long time now. This was God's plan all along.  He had sovereignly allowed the bad to make the way for a greater good. 

Two weeks ago, I walked a long-time friend into a women’s recovery center.  Her life had steadily fallen into the pit.  The one with whom I had shared clothes, twinkie days, Bon Jovi, and big hair of the 80's, was now sharing her hardest days with me.  I can’t see the bigger picture right now.  

She's still mid-story.  

The full picture hasn't been disclosed to us yet.  I timidly question why God might have allowed this.  It's hard to see or dream past the ugly of today.   I can only see the right now, and often the right now looks like one fine mess.

I’m clearly not as steadfast as Joseph.  

But ultimately I dream, like him, of a bigger plan for my friend.  I’m trusting God to work on her behalf and for His own glory. There's no way I can know how this will turn out.  I can hope and trust and diligently pray that God is allowing the bad for a greater good. That's what Joseph did.

Whatever the circumstances, whomever the person, God is at work. 
He is the Picasso of the bigger picture.  There’s no way we can understand it in our realm; it would simply blow us away. He knows we can’t fully grasp the whole of the plan in our limited minds. 

A prodigal child.  Aging parents.  Cancer.  A pregnant teen.  Financial difficulties. A challenging marriage.  Job loss. Troubles unmentionable...God is working.  Never doubt that. 

Like Joseph, we can strive to do the best with whatever hand we're dealt, knowing that God hasn't forgotten us.  And ultimately we can be overflowing with a hope that His ways are greater than ours.

We can trust in the bigger picture of tomorrow even when we can't see past the right now of today.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

 

When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You!

Truth is, You know what tomorrow brings 

There’s not a day ahead You have not seen

So, in all things be my life and breath

I want what You want Lord and nothing less
-Lauren Daigle