The Big Picture: Trusting What God Sees

God didn’t promise us that living life as a Christian would be perfect or even easy. In fact, we have numerous examples of Jesus Himself telling us exactly the opposite. Being in this world, we will always encounter hardships and, unfortunately, scenarios where it may seem completely hopeless, and leave us asking the question, “Why?” In whatever situation we find ourselves, we can get caught up on the small details and little events so easily we completely forget about something very important.

Genesis 50:20 says, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” This verse is mentioned in the context of the end of Joseph’s story, after he has had unthinkable things happen to him, from nearly being murdered to being sold into slavery to being imprisoned for years. Next, look at James 1:2-3. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James wrote these words during the persecution of the early Church. Both of these verses have something in common: they reflect the one thing we forget about – the big picture!

There are many characters in the Bible who reflect this idea perfectly, and we can see their entire story and how their trials and circumstances ended up having great outcomes. Three of them we’re pretty familiar with. The first of these three is Daniel. Daniel was one of the young Jewish men who was sent to the palace to work for the Babylonian king where he is immediately immersed in a pagan culture.

Soon after, we read that he is almost killed because of the king’s anger at the wise men who could not interpret his dream, and if that wasn’t enough, Daniel ends up later being thrown into the den of lions! But, through this, Daniel stayed faithful to God, and there are some amazing things that happened. We see Daniel blessed with health, wisdom, and even the ability to interpret dreams. Later, and more importantly, the kings Daniel served under glorified God.

Another figure we can look at is Esther. Esther’s story also takes place during the Israelite captivity, specifically during the reign of the Persian empire. She was one of the young women selected and brought to the palace for the king to choose a bride from. Through God’s blessing, she ends up becoming the queen, and then Haman comes into the picture. He hated the Jews, and created a plot to execute them all.

Esther went before the king to plead with him, a situation where she could be executed on the spot if the king disapproved. However, through all of this, and all of these trials, she found favor with nearly everyone around her, from the servants at the palace to the king himself, and ended up being able to save her people.

Finally, we look at Nehemiah. At the start of the book, Nehemiah is already in captivity, serving in the palace. Nehemiah was not just a common servant but he was the cupbearer to the king, one of the most dangerous jobs you could have. His role was basically to be the fodder for anyone trying to assassinate the king. If someone tried to poison him, Nehemiah would die in the king’s stead. In the beginning of his story, we see him plead with the king to go and rebuild his home city, Jerusalem.

Once there and working, the surrounding people definitely did not approve of this and persistently tried to attack and sabotage the workers. Nevertheless, Nehemiah stayed faithful. God helped Nehemiah stand out and gain permission and backing from the king himself, and later, was able to complete the walls around the city in a very short amount of time.

These are just a few examples of the many people who have suffered in different ways, but through all of their trials, God used them. When we look at these people, we can see the big picture, and we can see how, after everything they went through and all of the pain and hardship they faced, so much good came through them. Through these trials, cities were rebuilt, people and nations were saved, and God was glorified. Even though so many bad things happened, God definitely used them all for good!