Jehovah ... Trouble Maker?

Jehovah … Trouble Maker? 

Seems an odd title … yet this is what came to mind as I thought about a verse I read a couple of days ago:

"I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create calamity. I am Jehovah, that does all these things" Isaiah 45:7

Webster’s Dictionary defines calamity as:

1 : a state of deep distress or misery caused by major misfortune or loss

2 : a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering <calamities of nature or economics>

And so often, in our frail and limited human thinking, we consider every situation which causes discomfort as coming from ‘the enemy’. However, God clearly points out to us that not everything which brings about distress is rooted in maliciousness - some of it flows directly from His hands and into our lives. Yes, the very instances which cause us to cringe are often part of His process to strengthen our character, to develop Christ-likeness in us and to manifest His good plans in our lives - to bring us to the hope and the future that He has prepared for us.

In the story of Joseph we learn of a young man who had two very powerful dreams at a young age. Subsequently, Joseph went and told his family – some of which became resentful and sold him into slavery. Ultimately, Joseph ended up in Egypt where he suffered many ‘calamities’ until he finally became governor of the entire land … thirteen years later.

Now, I have heard it stated on several occasions that Joseph spoke impulsively and should never have shared his dream with his brothers. However, this mindset is most likely rooted in the desire to attribute some of the ‘blame’ (if you will) to Joseph. Somehow, in our human reasoning, we can better reconcile a calamitous situation if we view it as being the fault of an individual rather than part of God’s master plan. Ultimately, if the 'burden of error' can be found in something that the individual did (rather than God's design), others feel more at ease that the same circumstances would not befall them.

Please do not misunderstand me – Joseph’s brothers were jealous and that is an entirely different matter (one of sinfulness). But do not let it escape our attention that Joseph had to get to Egypt, somehow. And all of the circumstances which he endured (painful and difficult as they were) were all a part of the process of him not only fulfilling his destiny but being a useful and proven vessel of the LORD.

‘He sent a man before them –

Joseph – who was sold as a slave.

They hurt his feet with fetters,

He was laid in irons.

Until the time that his word came to pass,

The word of the LORD tested him.'

Psalm 105:17-19

He sent a man –

Who sent a man?

God – God sent a man and 'the word [promise] of the LORD tested him.

The LORD is in control! There is not one situation which occurs where He sits up, scratches His head and says, ‘Wow! I did not see that coming.’ Yet, His plans for us do not always unfold in scenes of sunshine and roses. Things do not always come in neat and tidy boxes. And many of the troubling situations that you encounter may not be because you did something wrong because you are doing something right. 

Now, if you are living in a way that is not pleasing to the LORD – recognize it, confess it and repent of the sinful action. But if you have done what the writer said in Psalm 16:8 and ‘have set the LORD continually before you’ … understand that unfavorable situations may still arise, but you shall not be moved from your place in Him.

The key, then, to successfully navigating the situations of life is in praying for discernment to understand which 'calamities' are works of the flesh and which are by God’s design – and then to keep on standing and have faith that His ways (the light, the dark, the peaceful and those which bring about calamity in our lives) are perfect and that He truly is working all things together for your good.

Have a Blessed Day!