Trapped!

 I "found" a scripture last week that described my typical caregiving day. It's in Genesys 42:36. Jakob has found himself in a hard spot. He lost Joseph a lifetime ago; now there is a famine in the land, and it's extreme. He sent his older sons to Egypt to get some food so they could survive. Now, the "mean" leader that they are unaware of is Joseph himself, who wants them to return. But he is requesting that they bring Benjamin to prove their story is true. Jakob cries out, "You have bereaved me of my children, Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin?" (ESV)

His next breath is spent with the thought that comes behind many sighs. Everything is going against me!" (NLT) 

Have you ever felt that way? Things can pile up so quickly on any given caregiving day, and it can feel like everything in life is working against us. It can be a few big things, numerous "smaller" things, or a combination of the two that slips us right into that overwhelm mode. 

Jakob has already been through a lot. He tricked his brother twice, so he had to flee the homeland. He met up with Laban, who worked him and took advantage of him. His sons have married, and Levi and Judah acted out when their sister Dinah was defiled. He lost Joseph and Rachel. Jakob broke from Laban and went home, not knowing what type of reception he'd get from Esau. 

He's seen great prosperity and great need. He's met God personally twice, and He changed Jakob's name to Israel. And now there is a severe famine, and he's seeking help from Egypt because that is the only place that is prepared for the famine. He has no idea Joseph, his beloved son, is running the show via divine inspiration from God and that Joseph's dreams are about to come true. whew! That's a lot!

Now, he puts words to feelings we've all had at some time or another. Everything is against me!

I know I have felt that way a lot! But we can encourage ourselves with the rest of Jakob's story. He can't see the future; he just feels the present. And he's overwhelmed, distressed, and pressed. He's got to provide for his family, but geez. What he couldn't see was that the answer to all of his prayers was going to come from that moment. He would soon see Joseph, a dream he'd given up on long ago, because he believed Joseph was dead. (Thanks to his "loving" sons who flat-out betrayed and lied to him!) If he could only see into the future, into the heart of God, he'd know everything wasn't against him - they were all working for him. 

Isn't that the biggest problem with each day? Our limited vision keeps us locked in. We have no idea what God has planned; all we have are His promises. His word. His guarantee that He won't abandon us. We can rest assured, God can see way past our circumstances, and He knows what's around the bend. God sees what we can't even imagine, and He's planned our success even if it doesn't feel like it yet.

Today, I'll remind myself to just keep trusting Him. My thoughts will return to the many times He's come through for me when I wasn't expecting it or when I expected failure. I'll think about how He's stayed right with me on this caregiving journey, and He hasn't got anywhere else to go today. He will stay right here with me to provide comfort, direction, peace, and help. He truly has been and will always be the keeper and sustainer of my soul. I can trust Him for one more day, I'm sure of it! Will you join me?

Command Your Morning is a 31-day devotional focused on taking charge of your soul and day in the morning, and trusting God that the rest of the day will follow suit! You can get print and Kindle versions in my Amazon Shop.