Sheaf Rose & Stood Upright

and never heard of anymore. But now watch, God's plan in this is totally different.

Sometimes we are never able to understand the plans of God immediately but in retrospect, we surely can see His fingerprints throughout our lives. Perhaps you are

passing through the deep waters of trial and disappointment? Does everything seem to

be going against you? These apparent misfortunes are not accidents. The Lord allows

such things for a blessed purpose. So, patiently trust Him, someday you will praise Him

for it all!

God was not going to use a lad who was not even able to keep the dreams to

himself. A lot had to be done in the life of Joseph and hence God had to carry him away

from his familiar surroundings, in order to make him a ruler. Joseph being 'carried away'

to Egypt was God's plan! Did you get that? If today you are going through a period of

loneliness and separation, do not despise it, may be God has carried you to this place, in

order to speak with you. I know of a young man working for a bank in Dubai, but his

parents were in India, though. One day while I was just having a chat with him, he said,

"God has brought me to this wilderness to speak to me." This statement certainly

bewildered me, because I thought, here he was in an affluent country, working for a

bank and yet be cribs;however, he explained to me about the persecutions that he was

facing in the hands of his boss and also the pain of being away from his beloved

parents. Nevertheless, this separation had done a lot of good in his life, in terms of

spiritual growth. There was none, but God and him all the time in that foreign land. How

many of you would love to be cornered like this to be with God?

Five months pregnant, as I lay abandoned with pain in the hospital bed, I rolled my

eyes upwards to look at my Master. I had never looked up at Him that way in my life! I

had too many distractions, too many people around me. God had to remove them away

and bring me close to Him. What a privilege! It was not enough, God wanted to drag me

more closer to Him. I had refused to abort my child and I was determined to complete

the pregnancy period and deliver my child which was impossible according to the

doctors. Hence, we took a risk and returned home. Now listen, when I came back home,

I was now brought back in a stretcher in an ambulance van. Four people carried me

back home!

My spiritual journey started right there in the stretcher! The 'invisible Hand of God'

carried me through the trial period. As I look back at the events of my life, I could see

God orchestrating everything in my life to fulfill His divine purpose. I can now say like

Job, "I thank God for the affliction, because he has refined me as gold." (Job 23:10)

What sets apart great athletes from similarly gifted competitors, is their overwhelming

will to win, their cut-throat mindset and the tenacity to lift their game on the biggest

stage. Let us never be satisfied to be mere ‘survivors’ but let us aim to be ‘conquerors’.