1739 Nothing Is Wasted

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

I assure you, God wastes nothing. While he may not have personally designed all of your delays and detours, he can certainly work in them. While the hardships you face don’t always come from Heaven’s plans, they have passed through Heaven and have been deemed of value on your journey.

Have you ever had plans, and those plans totally unravel? Have you ever been going somewhere and the journey to your somewhere gone completely sideways? How do you handle that? Seriously, what is your attitude when it all just goes to crap?

Yesterday was the welcome day for our BIG Life Outer Banks Retreat. Girls from all across the country gathered in the most stunning mansion on the beach, but the travel here for some was totally unraveled. Flights were delayed, connections were missed, and reserved rental cars were unavailable. 6 of our girls ended up stranded, hours away from our retreat house with no rental car and no Uber drivers willing to make the long haul. These previously considered strangers, all from different states, sat for hours on end with all their suitcases … and they had the most memorable day ever.

Eventually, the 6 of them, plus 8 suitcases loaded up in the 1 car they could find … a Nissan Versa, and they roadtripped in to retreat, arriving at midnight. It was a nightmare of a travel day for the 6 of them, yet God had radically blessed them with laughter and memories that will forever bond them.

Their journey here could have been unimpressive. It could have gone according to plan and been smooth, on time, and totally unremarkable. Instead, it was delayed, detoured, and denied at most every turn … to be undeniably blessed in the end.

Could that be your life … Have you been delayed? Have you been detoured? Do you feel denied? My friend, those are the makings of undeniable blessings. When you finally get to where you’re going, you will be able to look back and see that. But it’s hard to see it when you’re in it.

Is that where you are? You’re in the delay right now. What you thought was going to happen hasn’t happened and you don’t know when it ever will. How you thought you were going to get there met a massive detour and now you feel like you’re wandering through a never ending wilderness that looks nothing like you wanted it to. Delayed … detoured … or maybe flat out denied. The door has been shut. The answer was no. Unavailable. Not happening. Never going to.

Man, life can be tough and the journey can be frustrating. BUT OUR GOD WASTES NOTHING.

What if you didn’t have to wait until you finally make it through all of this to see God is using it? What if you could fix your thoughts on the details of God’s sweet providence even in the uncertain mess.

While you may be uncertain, God is not. God is absolutely, undeniably CERTAIN of what he is doing, where you are going, and how he is going to work all this out!

In your Bible is the story of Joseph. Joseph was good and he did what was good. But how many of us know that doesn’t mean everyone is always going to be good to you? Bad things happen to good people sometimes, but with God, he never allows any of it to be wasted.

Joseph was 17 years old and favored by his father. This made all his older brothers hate him. Genesis 37:4, Joseph’s brothers, “couldn’t say a kind word to him.”

Well, have you ever felt like that? Like no matter what you did, it wasn’t ever good enough. No matter how nice you were, they just couldn’t be nice to you. And darn, they just can’t seem to say a kind word to you. Ahhhhh, girl, cancel your pity party … you’re not the only one.

A little perspective sometimes helps us get out of our pit. You know our personal pit is where we throw our PITy Party. Get it Pit-ey Party, in the pit. Here’s your perspective … IT COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE. THANK GOD IT’S NOT.

Here’s how worse it could be. Those people who can never say a kind word to you could throw you in a pit with plans to kill you, then end up selling you as a slave for 20 pieces of silver. Ahhhh, suddenly your sideways plans and delayed destiny doesn’t seem quite so terrible, do they? Perspective. It could be worse. Thank God it’s not.

You could still be stranded in that airport with no way out, but you’re not. You could still be without a job, but you’re not. You could still be in that terrible, toxic relationship, but you’re not. You could still be hurting like you once were, but you’re not. You could still be stuck where you were stuck for so long, but you’re not. GOD, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

I bet you’re like me, and with a little shift in perspective, you too can see countless ways it’s not as bad as it could have been and God is to thank for that.

Genesis 37 tells us how Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him in Canaan to traders who took him to Egypt as a slave. The traders then sold Joseph to Potipher, an officer of the King of Egypt.

Genesis 39: 3, “BUT, THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH, GIVING HIM SUCCESS IN EVERYTHING HE DID.”

Yes, he’s been betrayed by his family. No, life isn’t anything like he imagined it would be. But Joseph was still blessed.

Can you see how God has been with you through all of this? Can you see how even in this mess, God has made things come together for you? Can you see how he has used the intended harm for good?

I believe Joseph could see it because he chose to focus on it. He focused on God’s provision. He focused on God’s goodness. He was aware of how it could always be worse, but in one way or another, it wasn’t. And his faith and focus through this made all the difference in the world.

If you know the story of Joseph, you know it doesn’t end there. There’s false accusations that land him in prison. But in prison, the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did.

Well isn’t that bizarre. Success from God came even in the hardest of places. Blessings were still present in the hardship. You can choose to see them or miss them, but seeing them will certainly position you to receive more of them. God is looking for the girls in hard places that still praise him for his presence.

God is still here with you. He sees exactly where you are and what you’re going through. And while you may feel stuck, GOD IS NOT STUCK. He is not without options. You just cannot see what God is aligning in the middle of this.

Joseph was made the ruler of all Egypt. Yes, the one who was only there because his brothers betrayed and sold him. The one who had been stuck in a prison. God had used all of this to align him to be in the right place at the right time for plans so big Joseph could have never imagined them on his own.

In the end, as the ruler of all Egypt, he leads the country as they face a famine. He stores food so people can survive in the hardest of times. Then, he ends up saving his own family. Yes, the family that betrayed him. Yes, the family that caused him such hurt. After 22 years of slavery, imprisonment and hardship, he is now positioned as a leader of Egypt, and he is NOT BITTER. He is not pitiful. He is not miserable.

Joseph knew God had been with him through it all. And this is why he was able to look at his brothers who had caused him so much harm and say in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

One day you will look back and be able to say the same. All these delays, detours and denials were all used for good. It all worked out. Satan, you intended harm, but God turned that all around for ridiculous goodness I could have never imagined. One day on the other side you will see it fully.

But God is inviting you to see and trust him in this now. He’s asking you to partner with him and dare to believe God is using every thing that has touched your life for a greater good.

When trouble comes, you get to choose where your thoughts go. This setback causes us to either lean in or shrink back. This problem causes you to be pitiful or powerful. Girl, lean in. Lean in to God. Lean in to the power he is offering you over the pity of your problem.

One day you will see all the ways God used this for good. But while you’re here, dare to believe he’s wasting absolutely none of this.

Psalm 103:4, “He has redeemed your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”

God’s providence is working in your life, my sister, and evil doesn’t stand a chance against God’s grace.

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