Enjoy today's devotion written for Devotionals Daily by Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright with Anne Graham Lotz, authors of God Won’t Leave You There.
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When your life turns upside down, do you ever wonder where God is? The Bible says,
The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. — Proverbs 15:3
In a desert land He found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; He guarded him as the apple of His eye. — Deuteronomy 32:10
Even if these verses weren’t specifically for Joseph, God’s character doesn’t change. They apply to all of us. He will watch over you and be faithful to you as He watched over Joseph and was faithful to him… because God is faithful! He cannot be less than Himself. In His sovereignty God knew there was so much more for Joseph to gain through betrayal and hardship than if he were to be rescued at that moment.
- If you have wondered where God was when your life turned upside down, just hold on. God is at work to bring about a much greater purpose.
Don’t confuse His patience in your trial as a lack of love or care.
He is the God who sees me. — Genesis 16:13
The apostle Paul testifies when he stood on trial in Rome that everyone deserted him — no one came to his defense. Not Timothy or Silas, not John or Barnabas. Not his friends in Ephesus, Philippi or Macedonia. He was alone. Yet Paul said,
the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength… — 2 Timothy 4:17
How have you been betrayed? Lied about? Falsely accused? Have you had your pristine reputation stomped on? Has your ex spread false rumors about you? Did your spouse cheat on you? Did your coworker throw you under the bus to get the promotion? Has a sibling stolen your much needed inheritance? Never forget Who is by your side.
God is faithful! He is with you!
One of my dearest lifelong friends is Robin Knudson. We met the summer before my senior year in high school at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership camp in St. Simons, Georgia. I was so starved for a godly friend, and the Lord brought her right when I needed one. She was from Minnesota and had never heard of Baylor University until I told her that’s where I wanted to go to college. She quickly decided she did too and got accepted before I did! We roomed together all four years and both got married within two weeks of each other after graduation. She was the first to get pregnant and we were thrilled. Robin and her husband, Jimmy, prepared their house for the coming baby. The week came for his birth, and they had already named him Elijah. Robin’s water broke and she rushed to the hospital. What happened in the next few hours was the worst thing that could happen to new parents. Precious baby Elijah went home to be with Jesus before he took his first breath. I’ll never forget that day. I was visiting my grandparents at their home with one of our other Baylor roommates when I got the call. We couldn’t stop the tears.
In the days to come, Robin and her husband, Jimmy, held a funeral service for baby Elijah. I was unable to make it, but at the service they had the packed-out church sing Matt Redmond’s song, “He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name.” Robin and Jimmy gave God the glory during their darkest days. As difficult as it was, their faith in God never wavered. Robin soon got pregnant again and gave birth to a healthy baby girl whom they named Keziah1, because like Joseph, Robin wanted to remember God’s faithfulness. Keziah was the name of Job’s second child born to him after he lost all his children during his great suffering. I have been so blessed to see Robin and Jimmy’s rock-solid faith in the Lord through the toughest times. No matter your suffering, wherever God has you, remember… He is faithful!
I will never get over the wonder of God’s great faithfulness in my life to save me from two back-to-back heart attacks. But the recovery journey was a challenge of my continued trust in His Almighty power and faithfulness. Much of the three years following the heart attacks were spent in fear and desperation — every sharp pain in my chest, every time I had a dizzy spell, every time my heart started beating erratically, I would have this sudden feeling of terror that I was having a repeat SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection). There were countless times I had to choose to blindly trust God when all circumstances seemed to scream, “Go to the ER!”. There were times I would lie in bed with tears streaming down my face and just repeat His name, Jesus, Jesus, over and over. And then there were multiple times when I knew I needed to go to the ER. During those visits, doctors would run me through assorted tests, CT scans, EKGs, blood work, but to this day, praise God! SCAD has not been detected. Yet I have struggled with what was diagnosed as PTSD.
Fear and desperation are a natural response in crisis, but the key is not letting it take over. Easy to say but hard to do. The secret to conquering fear and that feeling of desperation for me has been to focus on God’s faithfulness to remember His promise to me! Shortly after my heart attacks He promised me in my morning devotional reading that,
You will not go that way again. — Deuteronomy 17:16
I knew He was promising I wouldn’t have another SCAD.
That’s when faith had to step in when all circumstances pointed the other way. I had to learn to choose to believe God would be faithful to keep His word and not give in to my fear. Without a doubt, I would have been in the Emergency Room one hundred more times if I had not heard Him speak to me, claimed His promises, and then stood on them with shaky legs of faith each time the fear welled up inside of me. As a result, I discovered a much deeper, richer faith than I could have imagined! God keeps His Word! I know…!
You may not have experienced SCAD heart attacks, or lost a baby, or been put on trial, but every single one of us can remember that moment in our lives when things turned upside down —slammed out of nowhere — blindsided — when your world came to a screeching halt — the blood drained from your head to your toes — desperate beyond desperation. When that happens the next time, remember… the God of Joseph is your God.
He is with you and He will bring you through! Why? Because He is faithful!
Watch the Video
1. Job 42:14
Written for Devotionals Daily by Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright with Anne Graham Lotz, authors of God Won’t Leave You There.
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Your Turn
Are you hanging onto that promise? God is faithful! Are you in a scary, frustrated, challenging, world-gone-upside down season? God is faithful! Are you praying with all your might for Him to fulfill His promises? Believe Him because God is faithful! ~ Devotionals Daily