Make The Most Of Where You’re At
Make The Most Of Where You’re At
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. (Colossians 3:23-25)
How often do you become dissatisfied with where you’re at in your life? It may be your job, your home life, your marriage or the fact that you aren’t married, your church, or a trial you are going through. What is your thought process throughout your situation? “I wish I could find a better job or had a different boss…I wish I had a better marriage like that person or that I was married…I wish my kids were more like their kids…I wish I was slimmer, prettier, better at this or that”, etc. If your thoughts were recorded every day, what would you hear? A lot of dissatisfaction and grumbling or thankfulness for what you have and where you’re at? We all have been there.
When we look at the life of Joseph, here was a man who went through his share of difficulties. He was almost killed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of sexual attack, and thrown into jail when he committed no crime. Yet, God had things working in his favor to get where he needed Joseph to be. But to get there, God had to allow Joseph to go through all of these trials to grow him and for a purpose Joseph had no clue about. To help save a nation from starvation from a future famine. Joseph had no idea what God’s plan was, but he was determined to make the best of whatever situation he was in because he trusted in God. He became a trusted slave of Potiphar who put his household into Joseph’s hand to run because he witnessed God’s blessing on Joseph. When Joseph was thrown into jail, he became the best prisoner he could be, continuing to trust in the Lord. Joseph’s father gave him a coat of many colors when Joseph was a teenager, and though that coat looked wonderful on Joseph, it wasn’t the coat that made Joseph, it was the character inside the coat. In everything Joseph was going through, God was forming his character along the way.
At some point, Joseph made the choice to put his trust in God, no matter what he was going through, and to make the most of where he was at. He didn’t stop God from working through him nor did he stop the light of Christ from shining through his work. Sometimes when we are going through difficulties, we can tend to pull back, not wanting to go any further because we don’t understand what is happening. We wonder where God is in all of our difficulties…in our illness, our lack of finances, our rocky marriage, our family problems, our work issues, etc. We may even want to stop helping others and crawl into our comfort zone where we can care for our wounds through self-medication, alcohol, drugs, food, etc. Looking at Joseph’s life, however, he did the opposite. He became the best he could be for God throughout his circumstances. Instead of pulling back, he pushed forward and continued working and helping others. He didn’t allow his situation to destroy him or make him bitter. He put his trust in God to see him through and by doing this, he not only glorified God, he was promoted.
It wasn’t until Joseph reconnected with his brothers, the very ones who put him in this situation, did he relay what the purpose for his trials was and we see this in Genesis 50:20: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Whatever your situation is, make the most of where you are at. Be determined not to pull back but to push forward, being the best person and servant of Christ you can be. Allow God to form your character into His character, which is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). By doing this, you will not only grow strong in spirit, but God will be glorified in the midst of your trial.