Father, although I cannot see the future You have planned

Three days after receiving the news that my application for Masters funding has been unsuccessful, what should York Baptist Church (the church I attend in York) start on but a series of sermons on the story of Joseph (Genesis 37 to 50). This is not coincidence, but providence!

Hearing God's Voice

Joseph learned you shouldn't draw conclusions about God's will for your life until the last chapter is written. He endured years of suffering at the hands of his brothers, his Egyptian masters, and his jailers until finally he was made a powerful leader in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. He was influential in saving the lives of thousands of people. Only then could he fully see God's divine plan and realise he had been in the centre of God's will all the time.

- Henry and Richard Blackaby, Hearing God's Voice

Indeed, the story of Joseph is not only about God's will for the life of Joseph as an individual (although it is about that), but also about God working in and through His servant Joseph to accomplish His purposes in the fullness of time.

"By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones." - Hebrews 11:22 (NIV)

"These [including Joseph] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." - Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV)

In the words of one of the closing hymns at the end of the service,

Father, although I cannot see the future You have planned
And though the path is sometimes dark and hard to understand
Yet give me faith, through joy and pain, to trace Your loving hand

When I recall that in the past Your promises have stood
Through each perplexing circumstance and every changing mood
I rest content that all things work together for my good

Whatever, then, the future brings of good or seeming ill
I ask for strength to follow You and grace to trust You still
And I would look for no reward, except to do Your will

Links: Masters Update (8 Oct 09), Further Reflections (19 Oct 09)