By: Gabriela Yareliz
This morning, I was speaking to friends of mine, in my home church in Florida. We send a text on Saturday mornings, when we pray for each other and our families. He and his wife are two of the most amazing people I know, who live their lives in full ministry— God’s love drips off everything they do.
Today, we were talking about the instability of these times and the unstable people who surround us. One thing we know to be certain is that God hasn’t disappointed us yet, and He won’t start now.
Sometimes, things look really different than we hoped or imagined. We discussed that sometimes in the Bible report of a person’s life, we miss the emotions in the story— the emotional undercurrent, if you will.
Imagine how Joseph felt after having all these dreams promising him a future, and then being sold as a slave by his brothers; doing what is right in his master’s house and ending up in a dungeon for it; feeling like his youth was wasting away in the dungeon— and yet, when pharaoh called on him, when he was troubled by a dream, the first thing Joseph does is express his faith in God and that God would reveal the deep mysteries.
Imagine David, after being anointed to be king; fighting Goliath and then working for King Saul, who was very mentally unstable and trying to kill him half the time. Imagine what David was thinking as he was playing his harp to calm King Saul’s episodes of insanity and rage. When faced with the opportunity for revenge, David never took it, but instead, he allowed God’s plan to unfold in His divine timing.
We sometimes gloss over these emotions that are buried in these stories we read. And one thing is certain, despite these emotions, we see the faith that was cultivated through a deeper relationship with God. We see it in their behavior and how they responded to adversity and opportunity.
Don’t miss the full picture. The Bible is not filled with fake stories that people lived that ended in rainbows. Scripture is there to remind us that we are not alone, and it is filled with promises that do not fail, even when the storm is upon us.
My friend sent me this verse, today. I needed it, and maybe you do, too.
“You only need to remain calm; the LORD will fight for you.”
Exodus 14:14 NCV
Emotions and circumstances go up and down, but one thing that never changes from story to story and passage to passage in Scripture is that He is with us. He fights for us. His plan is unfolding and nothing can stop it.
GABRIELA YARELIZ 