But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. . . . And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed. (
Genesis 39:21–23)
The reality is that all of us can imagine something better for ourselves than our circumstances today. The greater reality is that, if you love and follow Jesus, God always writes a better story for you than you would write for yourself. The “better” is based on this: God himself is the best, most satisfying thing you could ever have or experience, and, therefore, fullness of life is ultimately found not in any earthly success or relationship or accomplishment, but in your proximity to God through faith.
The dark side of this good news is that you may have to walk through pain, disappointment, rejection, and suffering for seventy or eighty years. The brighter (and prevailing) side says God never makes a mistake in choosing good for you. Everything you experience — expected or unexpected, wanted or unwanted, pleasing or painful — is God’s good plan to make you his own (
John 10:27–29), to give you himself forever (
Psalm 16:11), and to use your life to reveal himself and his glory to the world around you (
Isaiah 43:25;
1 Corinthians 10:31).
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John 10
27
“My sheep ahear My voice, and bI know them, and they follow Me;
28
and I give aeternal life to them, and they will never perish; and bno one will snatch them out of My hand.
29
“1My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
Isaiah 43
25 “I, even I, am the one who
awipes out your transgressions
bfor My own sake,
And I will
cnot r
emember your sins.
1 Corinthians 10
31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or
awhatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
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What is the secret of joy and contentment in the face of whatever life brings? It’s centering and anchoring our joy and contentment in Christ, rather than in life.
John Piper says, “When we have little and have lost much, Christ comes and reveals himself as more valuable than what we have lost. And when we have much and are overflowing in abundance, Christ comes and he shows that he is far superior to everything we have.”
A Greater Treasure and Ambition
Is the life you’re currently living the one you always wanted?
- Are you content — more than content, delighted and exhilarated — to have God at your side (Joshua 1:9)?
- Have you put some earthly standard or accomplishment ahead of knowing him and being his (2 Corinthians 6:16)?
- Are you willing to entrust your soul, your cause, and your vindication to the one who always judges justly, the one who has promised to work all things in every circumstance — including every setback, every disappointment, and even every sin against you — for you (1 Peter 2:23; Romans 8:28)?
God means for all of us after the wrongly convicted Joseph, and the brutally beaten Paul, to have their faith, hope, and joy. Make him your greatest treasure and ambition, and see everything else that happens to you in the light of that infinite pleasure and security. Learn to love the life you have with God, even if it is the life you never wanted.
(
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/love-the-life-you-never-wanted)
