Genesis 37:22,24- Hard Times
“Rueben further said to them, ‘Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him’ – that he might rescue him out of their hands to restore him to his father….and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.” Gen 37: 22, 24
Sometimes, there are times in our lives when things seem to be going well and out of nowhere we end up in a pit. Living as a part of this world, we cannot escape the difficult times. We must learn to deal with them. I am sure we can all think back or even think currently about a pit we have been or are in. It is not always just a single pit we might be in. We might be in several different pits at once. It could be our relationship with your spouce, finances, or your health. During these times, we must learn how to have the proper attitude in order to get out of them.
Joseph did nothing to prompt his brothers into throwing him into the pit, other than his attitude of pride. Joseph received many gifts from his father but became proud and began boasting about them. As this took place, his gifts began to get stripped. Realize this, it was not Joseph’s dad who took the gifts away, but it was through Joseph’s own actions that the gifts were stripped. However, if you look ahead to the end of the story, once Joseph realized the lesson God was trying to teach him, he received something more important than any of the gifts his earthly father gave him. He received the throne.
As you go through the difficult times, the pits in life, you are sure to hear some of the lies Satan tells you. He will often throw out that you are evidently not good enough or else you would not be in this pit. He will also start creating false evidence to support the lies. Recognize this as part of his scheme! God would never tell you that you are not good enough and that it is too late. It is never too late. Sometimes our prayer is too much complaining rather than crying out to God in humility. We need to be asking God to do a work in our heart. When Joseph did this, his situation began to change. He was sold to some slaves. It may not seem that our way of getting out of the pit is the best but it’s better than death as in Joseph’s case. When we humble ourselves and cry out to God, He will deliver us out of every pit. He will promote us beyond the pit and will exalt us so that we might walk in the destiny He has planned.