No matter how dark it seems, God is with you.
A friend of mine recently texted me and asked me for prayer. Apparently, the principal of her school had taken it upon herself to omit, “one nation under God,” when she led the daily pledge of allegiance. She had done it the previous day as well.
My friend was greatly troubled and she texted that many of her students were too. Her school has always begun the day with the pledge. Why omit God now? Didn’t we just observe 9/11?
I immediately said a prayer for her. As I prayed, I immediately thought of some Biblical people who had been placed in hostile territory for reasons that they couldn’t possibly understand at the time, and I felt led to share them with her.
Joseph, the one with the colorful coat, was sold into slavery as a teenager. He spent the rest of his life in a foreign land. But, Genesis tells us not once, but twice that, “the Lord was with him.” God didn’t remove him from Egypt, although I suspect that would have been Joseph’s preference, but God was with him. Joseph allowed God to use him by remaining faithful. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness, the entire fledgling Nation of Israel was saved.
Daniel, of the lion’s den fame, was captured and hauled off to Babylon as a teen. I’m sure he longed go home. God didn’t remove him from Babylon, but he used him in huge ways throughout his captivity there. There’s no way of knowing how many people came to know God because of Daniel’s faithfulness. God was with him.
Then there’s Esther. She was scooped up by a king and forced to live in his court, just because she was pretty. She had no choice in the matter. When she was told of a plot to kill all of the Jews in the land, she prayed and then used her influence with the king to save her people. God didn’t remove Esther from the king’s court, but she allowed Him to use her. God was with her.
It’s difficult not to see the parallels that we have with these people. We are all living in a Babylon of some type. Our world is not really Christian friendly at the moment. Has it ever really been? But, if we believe that God has His hand in all matters of our lives, both big and small, then we have to know that we are in this place at this moment for a purpose.
We may not like it or understand it. I’m fairly sure Joseph, Daniel and Esther had no idea what kind of impact their faithfulness and obedience would have in the future of God’s people. But, God knew.
I reminded my friend that she is the only face of Jesus that some of her students may see. I reminded her that the Bible is full of examples of people who find themselves in Godless places, but through them God was made known to people who were lost. I reminded her that God is with her.
God is also with you in whatever unfriendly place you may find yourself. Perhaps you needed a reminder.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂