Hope, Promises and the Bachelor

Okay, first and foremost...The Bachelor.

WHAT THE HECK???  I hardly have words.  Except that i do.  And they are not pretty.  For some reason the words stupid, ridiculous, jerk face butt munch hole come to mind.

And ABC, you're not without fault for this fiasco they called the Bachelor finale.

Disgusting...

Anyways, i swore off ever watching the Bachelor again.  But i guess we'll see next season if my oath holds any validity.  In the meantime i promise not to spend an obscene amount of time being mad at a television show again.  At least, i hope.

Okay, seriously though...i'm really moving onto more serious matters now.

I woke up this morning questioning everything about where i am in life right now.  Sounds about right since i wrote the other day about finally feeling a sense of purpose in my life.  But of course, that doubt began to seep back in slowly and my thoughts this morning were along the lines of "is this really what im supposed to be doing right now? Am i moving backwards in life and in my dreams?  What am i accomplishing in life right now?"  These thoughts made their rounds through my mind and thoughts until i could feel the disappointment in myself deep down in my bones.  

And then, in typical fashion, God blew His life back into me.  

In my bible study I was studying Joseph today.  I was reminded that Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and suffered numerous other injustices on top of that.  Yet through it all he held firm to the promise that God had spoken to him.  Even when he was sold into slavery.  Even when he was thrown into jail for being an honorable man.  Even when a promise was broken by a fellow inmate that would have brought about his release.  He held fast to God's dream for him.  

I had all of those circumstances of his running through my head and then i was reminded about how Genesis ends.  Joseph is reunited and reconciled with his brothers.  He is second in the nation only to Pharaoh himself. His father Jacob is able to speak a special blessing over Joseph's sons.  Everything was made right. God's promises were fulfilled far better than if Joseph had taken them into his own hands.

And i felt that hope begin to well up again within me.  I know that God has spoken several promises to me.  I know that He called me out of my old job.  I know that i'm doing what i'm supposed to be doing right now.  Even when from the outside it may look like i have no idea what i'm doing with my life...actually, that may be true.  But the thing is, God does.  And i have faith in Him.  Even if it slips from time to time...I believe in His goodness. In His sovereignty. In His love for me.  And i don't really need to believe in anything else.  

He is good...that's all that matters.

To close, i will leave you with a quote from Beth that especially moved my heart this week.  It's about Jacob leaning on his staff to worship God as he was blessing Joseph's sons right before he was about to die.

"Something about picturing the worship of the old man just before he died is precious...Few things could be more priceless than a generational heritage of worship."  

Amen Beth...Amen.