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"It matters a great deal who is going to win, but not at all who won"

Willie John McBride, Irish Rugby player

Joseph

Joseph (by Marion Jones, extracted from her autobiography*)

The Lord was with Joseph, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper (Genesis 39:23)

Joseph was faced with a whole run of circumstances that threatened to affect him adversely and that were beyond his control. His willingness to turn to God for r the solution enabled him to make each experience a step of progress. He stayed close to God, no matter what His circumstances. And through it all, the Bible explains, The Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper (Genesis 39:23 KJV).

God had something far better planned for Joseph than he could imagine. And it seems to me that there’s a promise in this for us all. God desires for us solutions and resolution, and He empowers us to find them. There is always an answer.

Many times we are faced with what feels like our own personal prison while we are waiting for a financial solution, a relationship resolution, or a healing to take place. The going will get tough and the hills will be hard to climb. It’s important that during these times, we don’t do anything foolish. I had to keep looking beyond my present circumstances and imagine the positive possibilities for my life. I had to overcome my emotions of feeling angry and overlooked and remind myself that “God has a plan for me.”

The day will come when you will realize God hasn’t forgotten you, that He wants you to be useful and purposeful and will empower you with endless opportunities so that you can be released from your own prison. No matter how messy your life gets, no matter how crazy your circumstances are, and no matter how much your heart is filled with fear and distress, God will rescue you.

The more I thought about those prison officials, I decided that they aren’t bad people. They are only people who, stances and conditions, do bad things. I prayed for them and my heart softened.

Marion Jones, Winner of 5 medals in the 2000 Olympics – all later cancelled when she admitted using drugs.

*On the right track, Marion Jones, Howard Books, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2010

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