I often think of Joseph and what it was like for him in that well. Do you think his voice gave out from trying to call to his brothers, pleading with those nearest and dearest to him to not abandon him? Thrown into a well and wondering if it was the end for him- no food, no hope; as one of the youngest he would have spent his life looking up to his brothers, wanting not only to be them but his pride desiring to be greater than them. Yet here he is, deserted and desperate, in a well without hope.
The longer I am alive, the more pain and heartache I witness. Broken marriages and broken dreams, miscarriage and misery. Brother turning against brother, sickness and suffering. I find I am fairly regularly crying out with the voices in heaven- “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge…” (Revelation 6:10) How long until you free us from the burdens of sin, the tears we shed, the trials and pain? As a friend who was grieving the death of a child once told me- ‘Somedays the new heavens and earth seem a long way away.’
Yet in these moments, the faith that appears foolish to some becomes the very heartbeat of our being; the reason to go on, the reason to hope. For as we look to the One who knows all, we can trust. We can choose to praise when we don’t have the words, when it hurts more than anything. When we question his very existence, we can be sure his arms are cradling us like a mother gathering her chicks.
Dear friend, wherever you are today; may you know in the deepest core of your being God is there. When we look at Joseph, we can see with the perspective of hindsight- we can see that the well was just a beginning; it was a step towards growing Joseph to be more like the God he came to love and serve. While Joseph may have looked around and seen darkness in that well, if he lifted his eyes he would have also seen the stars, reminding him of the Creator God who promised a hope and a future to the descendants of Abraham; an end to suffering through a child of Eve.
Just as I remind my kiddies as I tuck them in at night and discuss the darkness and shadows; friend- God is not asleep on the job, for he neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:2-4). God is in all, working through all and can be infinitely trusted. May you know his strength and peace today. May you drink from HIS well; the life-giving, soul satisfying water that remains steadfast and true even when the ground seems to be crumbling beneath us.