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2 min read

Feel Stuck? You’re Not, Really.

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Problems never just go away or take care of themselves. The Lord will patiently wait and permit the circumstances to compel us to do what we should have done at the beginning.

Why Your Burdens Seem so Heavy

(Photo by Photodune)

Remember Jacob? Before his sons could purchase any more grain for the famine, he was required to bring the very person Jacob had refused to release into God’s control—his youngest son, Benjamin. In Jacob’s own words, “My son shall not go down with you” (Gen. 42:38).

However, like straws loaded on a camel’s back, day after parched day of the famine finally took their toll. It’s the same with us.

But the weight on our shoulders isn’t ours to bear.

Our problems keep us in a corner until we turn to God.

The Corner Has a Corner to Turn

“If it must be so,” Jacob conceded, “take your brother also, and arise, return to the man” (Gen. 43:11-13).

Yes, Jacob, it must be so. It always will. The circumstances kept Jacob in a corner until they forced him to do what he had refused to do otherwise: trust God with his sons.

Judah reminded Jacob that they could have gone to Egypt and returned twice in the time it was taking Jacob to surrender Benjamin. Two round trips from Hebron to Egypt amounted to about 1,000 miles—or seven weeks hard travel. Jacob wasted seven weeks in a corner, only to find himself facing the same issue as he faced in the beginning.

From the example of Jacob let us learn patient endurance, should the Lord often compel us, by pressure of circumstances, to do many things contrary to the inclination of our own minds. —John Calvin

Your Problems Keep You in a Corner

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Why Your Problems Keep You in a Corner

Problems don’t just go away. They keep us in a corner so that we will turn to God. The result? We discover God is trustworthy.

We should hold nothing as dear to us as trust in God—not money, not a position, not even a child. Ultimately, comfort cannot come from a hope that God will protect us from pain.

Our comfort can only come from trusting that God remains in complete control for His good purposes—even in what seems the worst of circumstances.

Tell me what you think: What have you learned in those times you were stuck in the corner? To leave a comment, just click here.

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This post is adapted from Wayne’s book, Waiting on God: What to Do When God Does Nothing.

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If you find yourself waiting on God—or if you don’t know what God wants you to do next—this book offers a wise and practical guide to finding hope and peace in life’s difficult pauses.

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