There are times in our lives when the Lord is gracious to show us the end from the beginning. He gives us a promise, a word, a dream and we are filled with thanksgiving to His name. We are excited and tell our friends what the Lord is going to do for us. We think it is going to happen right away. We are ready. We are watching. We are praying. We are praising and giving thanks.

     Then one day we wake up and situations and circumstances around us change. All of a sudden the very promise the Lord has given us looks totally impossible. In fact the complete opposite is happening. Instead of your family being united there is division. Instead of your church growing, there is a split. Instead of having more than enough to cover your bills, there is a drastic change in your finances. What looked so real to you when God gave you the vision now seems to be dead and you wonder if you ever heard from Him at all. We begin to question him and to throw temper tantrums. We are asking why all this is happening? We don't understand God and what He is doing in our lives. We cry out "Why God, why is this happening, this is not what you showed me."

     We are not the first to experience these trials. Many in the Bible were given promises and dreams only to see things turn drastically against them. Joseph is one of those people. God gave him a mighty dream; he shared it with his family. He was excited.

     There was a problem though; Joseph was the only one to believe it. His father pondered it and his brothers hated him for it. They hated him so much they sold him to the Egyptians and told his father that he had been killed. To make things worse while Joseph served in the King's palace, he was falsely accused by the King's wife and thrown into jail. While there the cook and the baker who had promised to remember him before the King also betrayed him when they were released from prison.

     I often wonder what his attitude was during this time. As I read his story in the Bible the one thing that stays consistent is that where ever Joseph was he served. His heart remained humble before God and you never hear a complaint from him. Everything Joseph had seen in his dream now looked impossible. BUT GOD, who is faithful to His word, had a plan. The details of the plan were unknown to Joseph, BUT GOD was about to take everything that was meant for evil in Joseph's life and bring about His plan for Joseph. He would fulfill every detail of the dream He had given to Joseph. In fact at the end of the story of Joseph, we find him telling his brothers,

"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. Now therefore do not be afraid, I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them."
Genesis 50:20-21

     The Bible does not give us the details of how Joseph responded to all of this when things were not going well at all for him. Knowing his servant's heart, and his heart that refused to sin against God I believe that Joseph never gave up on the dream the Lord gave him. He never complained, nor did he question God at any time. He continued in worship to Him and continued to declare His name before others. God worked through Joseph no matter what situation he was in. He had favor with the King, favor with the guards in the jail and he was given interpretations of the dreams for the cook and the baker. God never left him through out the whole ordeal.

     I believe that Joseph's servant heart was a thankful heart. He knew the God he served. He trusted him no matter what happened and in the end God was faithful to His word. Joseph was exalted in the King's palace and provided for many including his family.

     We also can learn from Joseph. We can learn to trust God through any situation no matter how bad it looks. We can know that God is in the midst of it if we are in Christ and we are serving Him with our whole heart. We can learn through every fiery trial to give thanks knowing that the God of heaven and earth has a plan and it is a good plan. We can be assured that there will be a "But God," moment in our life. What we do during that time, from the time of the promise to the fulfillment is up to us. We can complain and grumble, we can fight God, we can even decide not to believe the dream anymore or we can have a servant's heart and worship Him and give thanks in all things knowing and believing with our hearts that we serve a Mighty God and a Faithful God. We can offer sacrifices of praise even when things look totally opposite of what God has shown us. We can praise Him with hands lifted high knowing that no matter what He is still God. He is still on the throne and He is in control. We can have a grateful heart toward Him, a heart full of trust for the One who loved us so much He died for us. We can praise Him and thank Him through every difficulty because sooner or later there is going to be a "BUT GOD," moment in our lives and we will understand and know that what the enemy has meant for evil against us or our loved ones, God is more than able to bring good forth from it. The real blessing is when the end of the trial does come; we discover that it was not just for our benefit but also sometimes for the saving of many souls.Can you give Him thanks today? Can you look at the circumstances around you and still lift your hands in praise to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Do you know His faithfulness to see you through every day of your life? I pray that we all do. I pray we will learn to worship and give thanks to Our Redeemer no matter what we see in this natural realm. For there is coming a day, there is coming a "But God" day when we will see all the goodness He had planned right from the beginning.

     If for some reason as you are reading this, your life is turned upside down and you don't know how you are going to get through the next minute, I implore you to raise Your hands to heaven and begin to thank God for His love and mercy and grace. Wonderful things happen when we give thanks to Him, praise from our lips is a sweet savor before Him. We truly have nothing else to give Him but our grateful heart for He is God and owns everything else anyways. What He truly wants is a relationship with you, His child. He truly wants to hear your praise in the midst of your darkest moments. He knows what is going on and He is not worried, for He knows the plans He has for you, and they are good plans.

     Jesus loves you and I pray this day you will know His love and that you will find the grace He gives so freely to walk through any situation. Let us give thanks in all things and watch and see what the Lord will do. Let us serve in the midst of the battle, let our hearts remain humble before Him and let us continue to declare His name to those around us. Let us wait with a patient and thankful heart for that moment when we can say, "BUT GOD!