Take Patience Too Far

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. — Genesis 50:20

The story of Joseph in the Bible has always been one of my favorites. You can find the whole tale starting in Genesis 37:1. If you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph, here’s a quick CliffsNotes version.

Joseph was the beloved son of Jacob. Joseph’s older brothers resented his favor and the gift of vision that God had given him, so they plotted to kill him, but then let him off the hook and sold him into slavery instead.

A lot of painful and confusing things would happen in Joseph’s life, but God continued to give him dreams and vision for how things would end up, and they ended up in his favor.

Every year I intently study Joseph’s story to see what fresh thing God might have for me to see in this beautiful historical account. This year, one verse got me right in the gut:

When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. — Genesis 41:1

At one point in Joseph’s life, he was wrongfully accused of something and ended up in prison for two years, waiting for someone to remember him and have mercy on him. Two years of waiting. And that was on top of the number of years he’d already been suffering.

I know that because Joseph was human, those two years were hard and discouraging. I mean, he was in jail. But I also know that because of how he responded once God brought healing and restoration to his life, he could not have been writhing in bitterness and seething with frustration. There’s one reason that Joseph might have been able to press through so much pain and hardship with patience: he was a man of great vision.

When we have a vision for where we’re going, we can access all new levels of patience.

And when you think about it this way, how can you be patient if you don’t know what you’re waiting on?

God may not give us every detail of what’s going to happen to us. Let’s thank Him that He won’t! But I do believe He’s personal and kind, and He will give us vision to help us access patience in every season and situation.

Let’s take it too far and ask for vision so we can be patient people, just like Joseph.

Where is God asking you to be patient? Have you asked Him for vision? Do that today.

Excerpted with permission from Take It Too Far by Jess Connolly, copyright Jessica Ashleigh Connolly.

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Your Turn

Patience is something the whole world is practicing right now. Patient in isolation. Patient in social distancing. Patient at home. Patient with kids. Patient without knowing when the circumstances will change. How are you doing? Let’s ask the Lord for a vision to continue trusting and placing our hope in Him! Come share your thoughts on taking patience too far. We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily