“So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.” Genesis 41:14
Change came knocking on my door recently. Change in routines. Change in time spent on various activities. Change in people and relationships. Change in emotions. Change in work. Changes in plans… So much change was happening that as I tried to ground myself in old routines, beliefs, and habits, I didn’t feel peace. As I took a run on a cold, windy day, I asked God to stop the wind. Yes, the wind was fiercely hitting me and I wanted it to stop, but instead it got stronger and I heard the whisper, “Why don’t you ask me to make you stronger for the wind?”
One of my favorite quotes that hangs on my wall is: “Be the change you wish to see in the world” by Mahatma Gandhi. I have it hanging from my bedroom wall. Many days I feel drawn to that word change and reflect on what changes God may be asking of me in my life. Sometimes I have looked at that word with excitement about changes I want to happen. Other times I look at the word change and feel inspired to be the change. While there are other times when the word change feels like a preparation for something coming…
I was still spinning like a top when I returned home from that windy run, but tried to focus on tasks that needed finishing because that was what I knew. I laid out a picnic blanket for my boys and me to eat our dinner upstairs that day. As we sat eating and chatting, my eye caught these words peeking out from my bedroom wall: “Be the change.” The rest of the quote was further down, but in that moment, I was reminded, the angst inside of me was that of change and my need to step forward into the change and become the very change itself.
See God….
He is always working. He hears our prayers. He is ushering in His kingdom as we speak. He never stops or takes a break. He only asks that we wait while He leads us in His way and in His time.
When I think of waiting and change, I remember the story of Joseph. (The one with the coat of many colors). Joseph was the youngest of 10 siblings….later with one more younger brother added. He shared a father with many brothers from mothers from most not his own. God sent him spiritual gifts that caused him persecution among his siblings and one day change came. He was sold off to become a slave by his brothers to merchants passing through. Envy and selfish ambition took hold of his brothers that day and his life changed in an instant. That change led to a promotion in some ways. His master found favor over him until another change. One day that master’s wife invited him to be with her and Joseph denied that offer yet in her own sin set him up to be sent to prison where he sat for 2 full years. Change again.
It seemed that no matter how faithful Joseph was to God, change kept coming that didn’t feel good for long. His situation and circumstances kept evolving and changing and looking bleaker at times. Until the day He was seen. When a prisoner he had been in the muck with shared his spiritual gift of dream interpretation with Pharaoh and in an instant, Pharaoh’s need for a dream interpretation led to Joseph’s immediate release from prison and promotion to being “in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Genesis 41:41 Change.
What I love about this story of Joseph’s life is the reminder that no matter what worldly things may be happening nor how desperate we may feel. God is always in control. He is always using that which was intended to harm us for the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20). And when our time comes for redemption, He calls us quickly! Without delay! Taking the impossible and making it very possible.
No matter what change may be on the horizon or what new thing God is asking of us, He grounds us in this verse:
“I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6
God hears our prayers and when they align with His will, He is handing us keys, helping us try them out, and opening doors for us. He never stops working. He only asks for our patience while we wait. Trusting that in due season, the harvest will come.
As the story of Joseph concludes, Joseph went on to help Egypt through a serious famine. He had prepared Egypt for this with saving and storage of food in preparation for that time where even his betraying brothers came before him in humility to receive the blessing the Lord enabled him to provide them in his faith. All of those changes, those burdens, prepared Joseph to step into a role that saved a nation.
So, when that change comes, consider it a harvest of prayers sent up and instead of seeing it as an overwhelming new burden remember, God is doing something….
Today’s image may seem silly, me with a chicken; however, it reminded me of all the blessings that can flow from change. Some blessings are big ones and some are small, but all add up to a bountiful harvest from God. One of the changes in our life led to an unexpected visit to spend time with amazing people where new friendships were formed and I got to hold and snuggle a chicken for the very first time. While that may not be on your list of blessings, it brought joy to me and a smile no one could take away. While many significant blessings were all around me, this is one I happened to have captured in a photo.
Walking through change with you, Julie
Father, Today I Surrender:
My Change
Show me the next step I should take.