Don’t
Cling to the promises of Scripture
“ I
By Katherine Harms ’m hangin’ in there.”
I frequently hear this response when I ask, “How are you?” Maybe you do too. For some
it’s a lazy habit, but for others it’s serious. The news is depressing. Unemployment is hopeless. A family is in crisis. The future looks bleak, the world feels out of con- trol. Emotions are paralyzed.
Though many feel defenseless, battered and help- less, their brains are screaming, “Do something!” Their response to my greeting says they may still be breathing, but they’re not living. Joseph, the Old Testament character with the color- ful coat, overcame several crises that could have driven him to the same sort of gloomy despair. Yet, when it appeared that evil was winning, Joseph didn’t just hang on, he thrived.
The fact that he ultimately became second-in-com-
Harms is a freelance writer in Green Cove Springs, Fla., and member of Christ Lutheran Church, Baltimore. Read her blog at http://livingontilt.
wordpress.com
mand in the land of Egypt wasn’t a reward for his endurance. It was evidence of some- thing else—some- thing anyone can do. Joseph ultimately looked like a success by the standards of time and space because he was already successful by the standards of eter- nity and infinity.
The principles that enabled Joseph to
escape the simultaneous paralysis and frenzy of personal catastrophe are just as powerful in the 21st century as they were 4,000 years ago. These practices don’t bring disasters under control. Rather, they enable people to get control of their reactions and live through calamities with confidence and peace. Joseph’s life demonstrates the power of four principles
that enable thriving in any situation: Trust in God alone
The first recorded crisis in Joseph’s life occurred when his angry brothers assaulted him, threw him into a deep pit and sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:18-28). Joseph’s behavior as a slave and comments later in his life make it clear that he didn’t feel that God had abandoned him, even though this disaster was humiliating and violent. He believed God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah’s descendants: “I will bless you, and … you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). He saw God fulfill that promise over and over.
16 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
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