Have you felt it? That urge to plunge head-first into something bigger than yourself–to be used by God as a beacon of hope in the lives of others? But there’s that one thing –that hurt, pain, betrayal, loss, whatever-it-is that binds you up and holds you back. So how do we walk in our calling while our hearts are still mending?

Your heart needs the Healer to mend the shattered shards as only He can. And even though you know that He can you wait because surely, a broken heart cannot be of service to anyone, right?

The truth is…

God’s Call on Your Life Happens in all Seasons

Joseph Discovered How A Calling Happens in All Seasons--Even the Bad Ones

Joseph understood this broken heart thing well.

He was the most-loved favorite son–and his brothers knew it. A surefire recipe for a family feud.

The brothers were further irked by Joseph’s crazy dreams of their sheaves of grain bowing to his, and his being center-stage in a celestial worship service of sorts.

Actually irked isn’t the biblical word–hate is.

And as we know, those dreams weren’t crazy at all–they were prophetic.

Sometimes Our Journey Takes Unpleasant Turns

Joseph’s dad sent him on a mission to check on his brothers and the flocks they were tending. But what happens next is often glossed over in light of the big picture outcome and a colorful coat.

You may have first heard the story as a child in Sunday School. As an SS teacher, I’ve stood in front of countless adorable wiggling bodies and wandering eyeballs, trying to cram the story in between the I-miss-my-mom crocodile tears and, “When is it snack time, Mrs. Doris?”

You may have taught this lesson to wiggly littles, too. Did your Road-Runner version sound like mine?

“…then Joseph’s dad told him to look for his brothers and the flocks to see if they were all okay and Joseph went and when he was wondering the field looking for them a man asked him what he was looking for and Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are…” And the man told him where the brothers went so Joseph continued looking for his brothers and the brothers saw him coming and plotted to kill him and then Reuben said let’s not kill him but just throw him into the cistern and when Joseph reached them they stripped him of his coat of many colors, another reminder to them that their dad loved him best (which will be our art project after the story), and they were so jealous, and they threw him into the cistern and then they sat down to eat and then they saw these Ishmaelites so then they sold Joseph into slavery and then…”

Maybe it wasn’t quite that rambly, and I probably took a breath somewhere in there, but we tell Bible stories so matter-of-factly and in a rush sometimes, don’t we?

And I can’t blame wiggly little people for my rush to the end. I think we all want to jump right to the good part–the part where Joseph’s brothers show up and find out Joseph’s calling by God is the reason they aren’t going to starve to death. The part when we see the goodness of the Lord, and how Joseph fulfilled his calling while his heart was still broken. The part when they finally get those crazy dreams.

But today, that glossed-over part of the story made me cry.

When Joseph didn’t find his brothers and the flocks where they were supposed to be, he still kept looking for them.

Isn't That So Like Our Jesus?

Isn’t that so like our Jesus?

Even when we aren’t where we are supposed to be and even when we probably don’t deserve to be found, he pursues us anyway. Even though some may reject Him, He still loves unconditionally.

And we can’t point fingers and say we would never do that because truth is, we have.

We have chosen other things over our first love. Probably not intentionally, but we most definitely have. But the Lord is gracious and patient, slow to anger and quick to love. Even when we break His heart.

God Redeems Unpleasant Journeys for Good