Friday, January 25, 2008

Blessed Captivity

I recently finished reading the book Prisoners of Hope. It's the story of two young American missionaries in Afghanistan who were arrested and imprisoned there for several months, charged with trying to convert a native family from Islam to Christianity.

Ironically, the imprisonment actually answered some of the ladies' prayers, particularly their prayers of being able to connect with Afghani women. They ended up having more freedom and contact with these women in prison than they did outside the prison walls. Despite the crude living quarters and often terrifying events, they believed that God had put them in prison at that time for a reason.

This week in my one-year Bible, I've been reading the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. He too eventually was imprisoned, falsely accused of attempting to rape his master's wife. After being released and elevated to the status of second-in-command over all of Egypt, he ended up saving his family--including his brothers who sold him in the first place--from starvation when famine came. Again, God used extremely negative circumstances for good.

Sometimes the greatest blessings can come when we are put in situations that are not of our choosing. I imagine that very few of us will ever experience life in an actual prison, but we all go through circumstances that seem hopeless. We have to remember that we may have been placed there "for such a time as this", as Mordecai said to Esther. God elevates us to positions of power, and He allows us to be put into humbling positions as well, and He is able to use all circumstances to bring about good. As in the case of Joseph, it may be several years before what are able to connect the dots and see how God is working all things out for our good, but rest assured that He is.

4 comments:

Kelley said...

It's that time in between the event and being able to connect the dots that's the hardest for me.

Anonymous said...

I'm reading about Joseph this week, too. I like what you wrote about being put in situations that are not of our choosing. Actually, I guess we choose very few of our situations but it does seem to be where we grow.

You know, Joseph was such a little smarty pants about his dreams... I might've thrown him in a cistern, too! :)

Rhonda K said...

Lisa,

I read Prisoners of Hope two years ago. It definitely is a book that can open our eyes to how God can work in any situation.

I like this statement..."Sometimes the greatest blessings can come when we are put in situations that are not of our choosing." That is a statement of great encouragement!

Thanks for sharing! :)

Confessing Lunatic said...

Amen and Amen!