When one studies the lives of Joseph and Job in the Bible, as well as many other biblical characters, it becomes evident that the road they traveled through life was full of ups and downs and many providential twists and turns. In fact, the journey that many great biblical heroes of the faith have traveled might be described as winding, troubled, and full of surprises.
I love how Pastor John Piper described this journey called life: “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”1
Piper’s quote packs several important encouraging lessons that all Christians can benefit from when life throws us a curveball. I would like to highlight three of these life lessons.
Life, no matter how closely we follow Jesus, will always have valley experiences among the blessings
As we study the stories of many biblical characters we see that trials and adversity are often the tools that God uses to build up our character and faith. Faith can only be built up when we are put into difficult situations and learn to trust and lean on Jesus for deliverance. These troubled valley experiences can either be viewed, as God choosing to leave us on our own, or trusting in His divine guidance to make us more dependent on Him – leading us to victory in our overcoming the trials of life.
The Bible shares real life stories of tragedies and triumphs to encourage us on our own life journeys
Real life biblical examples of people like Joseph, Job, Moses, Abraham, Paul, and many others are prominently shared with us to show us how we, by trusting God, can turn our tragedies into triumphs by allowing Him to see us through. The point here is that God is for us and is cheering us on to stay the course and rely on Him to make a way where often we don’t see a way. Knowing that Jesus always has our back and has proven Himself faithful in the lives of so many can be a great source of encouragement when we are going through our own troubled waters.
God is managing our troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ
When we fully understand that God is working out even our troubles for our own good and ultimately to use us to bring glory to Jesus Christ, we should jump for joy and get excited! Did you know that God will use all situations, both good and bad, to bless me and allow me, by overcoming the negatives, to glorify His name. And this my friends is the most wonderful and purposeful blessing I could ever experience in life.
As children of God, we need not fear the winding and troubled road we sometimes must walk since Jesus is right there with us, every step of the way, leading and guiding us to green pastures now and eternal future blessings!
1Quote by John Piper: “Life is not a straight line leading from one bl…” (goodreads.com)