We all go through difficulties in life, things we don’t understand. It’s
easy to get discouraged and think, Why is this happening to me? But God
uses difficulties to move us toward our destiny. Nothing happens by
accident. You may not understand it, but God wouldn’t have allowed it if
it weren’t going to work to your advantage. Looking back over my life, I
see the importance of the times when I was most uncomfortable, when I
went through a disappointment or somebody did me wrong. It didn’t
make sense to me then, but years later I realized that if it had not
happened, I would never have met a certain person. If that door hadn’t
closed, this bigger door would never have opened. If those people hadn’t
done me wrong, I wouldn’t have the experience that I need for this new
challenge. Now I can see that the whole time, God was directing my
steps. I thought I was going backward, but He was setting me up to move
forward. I didn’t like it, I felt stuck, but the truth is that trouble was
transportation; it was moving me into my destiny.
You won’t become all you were created to be without trouble. You
don’t grow in the good times; you grow in the tough times, the dark
times. Trouble prepares you for the next level. Trouble develops
something in you that you can’t get when it’s easy and everything is
going your way. In the difficult times your spiritual muscles are
developed, and you gain strength, endurance, and wisdom. Every
challenge you’ve been through has deposited something in you. Through
every relationship that didn’t work out, you gained experience that will
help you in the future. The times when you failed, when you blew it,
weren’t wasted—you gained insight. It was all a part of God’s plan.
Quit complaining about the trouble. Quit being discouraged because
life dealt you a tough hand. The reason you have big challenges is that
you have a big destiny. Average people have average problems; ordinary
people have ordinary challenges. You’re not average; you’re not
ordinary. You’re a child of the Most High God. The Creator of the
universe breathed His life into you. He crowned you with His favor. He
put seeds of greatness on the inside. You’re not ordinary; you’re
extraordinary. Don’t be surprised if you face extraordinary challenges.
It’s because you have an extraordinary destiny. God is getting you
prepared for greater blessings than you can imagine.
Trouble Moves You toward Your Destiny
Think about Moses. He was born into trouble that was no fault of his
own. As a little baby, when he was most vulnerable, life dealt him an
unfair hand. For fear of the increasing population of Israelites in Egypt,
the Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the male Hebrew babies. It
looked as though Moses were done. Some would say that it was too bad
he was born at the wrong time. But Moses’ mother understood the
principle we’re discussing: she believed trouble couldn’t keep her son
from his destiny. When she could no longer safely hide him at home, she
placed Moses in a papyrus basket and hid it among the reeds along the
bank of the Nile River. Even though his sister was standing at a distance
watching over him, there were snakes, alligators, and all kinds of natural
dangers. The basket could have tipped over, and Moses could have
drowned. If the wrong person had discovered him there, his sister could
not have stopped that person from obeying Pharaoh’s command to throw
the Hebrew baby boy into the Nile. A thousand things could have ended
Moses’ life, but none of it was a surprise to God. Pharaoh’s death decree
didn’t cancel Moses’ purpose. God has the final say. People don’t
determine your destiny; God does.
It just so happened that of all people, Pharaoh’s daughter, a princess,
decided to go down to the river and take a bath. She saw his little basket
floating among the reeds and sent her servant to get it. She opened the
basket up, and there was baby Moses, who started crying. It was love at
first sight. Even though she knew Moses was a Hebrew baby, she was so
thrilled that she picked him up and said, “I’m going to take this baby as
my own.” And so Moses was raised in the palace of Pharaoh’s daughter!
God could have stopped the trouble. He could have changed
Pharaoh’s mind and not allowed him to put out the dark decree that
threatened Moses’ life. But God used the trouble to get Moses to where
He wanted him to be. The trouble was a part of God’s plan. If Moses had
been raised in the limited environment he’d been born into, he could not
have learned what he needed to for his destiny. In the palace, under the
Pharaoh, he learned the best of Egyptian civilization—about business,
leadership, how to conduct a meeting, how to speak to people, and on and
on. The Egyptians were known for their superior education and ingenuity.
We still marvel at the colossal pyramids they built with no modern-day
equipment.
But at the time that Moses was taken away from his home and
family, I’m sure that Moses’ mother couldn’t understand it. It seemed like
a setback, having to hide your baby in the river, and surely his sister must
have thought it was the end when she saw Pharaoh’s daughter opening
the basket that day. But many years later, when God told Moses to go
back to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh, “Let My people go,” one of the
reasons Moses could walk into Pharaoh’s court with confidence was that
he had lived in a palace and had been raised by royalty. He knew
Egyptian protocol. He wasn’t overwhelmed. He had grown up in that
environment.
What was it that had prepared Moses to lead the Israelites out of
Egypt? Trouble. It was being born in a dysfunctional situation, having the
odds stacked against him. If Pharaoh had not put out the decree, Moses
would have grown up in his own home, but as a slave with a limited
education. God knows what He’s doing. You may not like the trouble, it
may not be fair, you’re uncomfortable, but that trouble is transportation.
As it did for Moses, trouble is taking you to the next level of your
destiny. It’s getting you prepared. You wouldn’t be who you are today
without all the things you’ve been through.
When Backward Means Forward
The Scripture says that God didn’t lead the Israelites on the easiest route
to the Promised Land because they were not ready for war. He had to
toughen them up so they would be prepared for what He had in store.
Don’t get discouraged by the trouble and say, “God, why is this
happening to me?” That trouble is not going to defeat you; it’s going to
promote you. It’s not hindering you; it’s preparing you. You may not see
how it could work out, but God has a way through the darkness. He’s
already lined up the right people. As He had for Moses, He has a
Pharaoh’s daughter who will be there to be good to you. He has the
breaks you need, the vindication, the funds, and the healing. You trust
God when everything is good, so why don’t you trust Him in the times of
trouble? Why don’t you believe that even though you don’t understand it,
He’s still directing your steps? You don’t have to live feeling stressed out
because you had a bad break or discouraged because you went through a
disappointment. That trouble means you’re on the way to your destiny. If
you’ll stay in faith, you’ll see God begin to connect the dots. You’ll see
there was a reason that door closed and a reason you didn’t get that
promotion. God had something better in store. He was using that trouble
to move you into your destiny.
I heard about a young man who grew up in Detroit through the 1930s
and 1940s. His parents had immigrated to the United States from the
small European country of Macedonia and didn’t speak English. This
young man loved playing baseball. His dream was to one day play for the
Detroit Tigers. He was a great player all through high school, very
talented. After high school he went away and served in the military.
When he came back to Detroit in 1952, the Tigers offered him a four-year
contract to play in their minor leagues. He was thrilled, worked hard, and
kept getting better and better, believing that one day he would make it up
to the big league. But three years into his career, he suffered a major knee
injury and was forced to quit playing. He was very disappointed.
Everything he had worked so hard for suddenly came to an end. He had
to move back in with his parents. His father had warned him that he
would never make it playing baseball. He couldn’t live at home unless he
got a job so he could help pay the rent.
This young man had a friend who owned a restaurant. He asked his
friend if he could come work for him until he found another job. He said,
“You don’t even have to pay me. I just need somewhere to go each day
so my father will know I’m working.” He was going to pay his father
with money he had saved from playing baseball. His friend said, “We
don’t have any job openings, but if you want to go in the back and help
them make pizzas, you can.” He started working in the restaurant for free,
making pizzas. He got so good at making pizzas that he started his own
pizza restaurant. People loved his pizza, and his restaurant was so
successful that he opened another one and another and another. Today
most of us have enjoyed a slice of pizza from Little Caesars, the
restaurant he started. Yes, that knee injury was a big disappointment, but
it wasn’t the end. It was transportation; it moved him toward his destiny.
“Well, Joel, something like that would never happen for me.” How
do you know? Your story is not over. God is not finished with you. That
bad break, that disappointment, that divorce is not your final chapter. If
you’ll do as he did and keep being your best, keep believing, keep
praying, keep honoring God, then trouble won’t be the end; it will be
transportation. It will move you toward the new thing God has in store.
This man’s dream of playing for the Detroit Tigers never came to
pass, but today he owns the Detroit Tigers! For my friend Mike Ilitch, it
didn’t work out his way, but God had a better way. What you’re
dreaming about may be too small. That door may have closed because
God has something bigger for you. You’re working for a company, but
one day you’re going to own your own company. You’re believing to
manage that addiction, but God is going to free you from that addiction.
You’re thinking you’ll be single for the rest of your life, but God is going
to bring somebody to you who is better than you imagined. Don’t get
discouraged by the trouble; it’s not the end. We trust God in the good
times. I’m asking you to trust Him in the troubled times—when you don’t
understand what’s going on and when you’re uncomfortable. Dare to
believe that He’s in control, that He knows what’s best, that your steps
and your stops are ordered by the Lord. It’s a powerful attitude when you
can say, “God, I trust You in trouble. I trust You when it’s not happening
my way. I trust You even though I feel as though I’m going backward.”
Strength, Power, and Grace to Go Through
A lot of times we’re trying to pray away all our troubles, pray away the
challenges, pray away the bad breaks. But here’s the key: you’re not
anointed from trouble, you are anointed for trouble. The Scripture says,
“God is a present help in trouble.” He is not going to stop every difficulty
and every bad break, but He will give you the strength, the power, and the
grace to go through the dark times with a good attitude. Psalm 89 says, “I
have anointed David. I will steady him and make him strong. His enemies
will not get the best of him. I will push down his adversaries and defeat
his haters. He will rise to power because of Me.” It doesn’t say, “I will
anoint him so he doesn’t have any opposition or problems.” It says, “I’m
anointing him for the trouble, for the sickness, for the legal problem.”
Quit telling yourself, “I can’t take this! It’s too much.” You’re
anointed for that difficulty. “Well, I didn’t get the promotion, the loan
didn’t go through, and my child got off course. That’s why I’m
discouraged.” Have a new perspective. Right now, God is breathing in
your direction, making you steady and strong. You don’t have to fight
those battles or live feeling stressed out because it’s not happening your
way. God said He will push down your adversaries. He will defeat your
enemies. That sickness, that legal problem, that trouble at work will not
get the best of you. Why? Because you’re anointed for trouble. You are
powerful, determined, favored. The Most High God says you’re not going
to stay in trouble. You will rise to power. That means you will see
increase, promotion, healing, and blessing. You may be in trouble now,
but don’t worry—it’s transportation that’s moving you to the next level of
your destiny. You’re going to see God begin to connect the dots in your
life. It may not make sense now, but one day you’re going to look back
and see what God was doing in the darkness. Even for the things you
don’t understand, if you’ll keep the right attitude, you’ll be able to say,
“They made me stronger. I’m more determined. I developed a greater
confidence.”
A couple of years after Victoria and I were married, we sold a house
and moved to a different place. Three months later, there was a knock on
our door. I answered it, and a police officer was standing there. He
handed me an envelope and said, “Somebody must not like you.” The
people who had bought our house were suing us over the plumbing. They
also sued the builder, the architect, the Realtor, the plumber—about a
dozen of us. We hadn’t done anything wrong. We knew we weren’t at
fault. But I was twenty-five years old and had never dreamed I would be
involved in a lawsuit. I didn’t like it. I had to go downtown to the
courthouse and give my deposition. I was so nervous and worried that
afterward I couldn’t drive home. Someone had to come pick me up. A
few months later, the lawsuit was dropped and everything was fine. It
seemed as though that whole ordeal, having to testify and go through the
process, had been a waste of time and money. I didn’t think any good
would ever come out of it.
But sixteen years later, when we acquired the Compaq Center, a
company filed a lawsuit to try to keep us from moving in. This time when
I went to give my deposition, I wasn’t the least bit nervous. I knew what
to expect. I was confident, strong, and clear. Now I realize that God had
allowed the lawsuit over the plumbing because He knew that sixteen
years later there was going to be a lawsuit that mattered, that would affect
my destiny. He had to get me prepared. I couldn’t see it at the time, but I
realize now that trouble was transportation. Instead of being upset when
things come against you, why don’t you believe that God knows what
He’s doing? Instead of living sour and complaining, “God, why is this
happening?” have this perspective: “God, I know You have me in the
palms of Your hands. I know You’re directing my steps. Even when I
don’t understand it, I trust You.”
Every Step Divinely Orchestrated
I wrote about Joseph in the previous chapter. When he was a teenager,
God gave him a dream that he was destined for greatness, but before that
dream came true, he went through a series of very dark places. There
were many years when he did the right thing but the wrong thing
happened. It didn’t seem as though the dream would ever work out, but
Joseph understood this principle: as he kept being his best, the trouble
couldn’t stop him—it was moving him toward his destiny. When you
study his life, you can see how God connected the dots. Every step was
divinely orchestrated. If you left one step out, the others wouldn’t work.
If Joseph’s brothers had not thrown him into the pit, he would have never
been taken to Egypt as a slave and sold to a man named Potiphar. If he
had never been sold to Potiphar, he would never have met Potiphar’s
wife, been falsely accused, and put in prison. If he had not been put in
prison, he would never have met the butler and the baker and interpreted
their dreams. If he’d never interpreted their dreams, Pharaoh would never
have called on him to interpret his dream, which led him to put Joseph in
charge of the nation.
If you isolate any of those steps along the way, they don’t make
sense. It was just one bad break after another. But you have to believe, as
Joseph did, that what looks like a disappointment, a betrayal, or a setback
is all a part of God’s plan. It’s transportation. It’s moving you little by
little through the darkness into your destiny. God knows what
He’s doing. God knew that He was going to need somebody in
charge in Egypt who would show favor to the Israelites. So years earlier,
He’d started this plan to move Joseph into place. What looked like
trouble was really the hand of God. Joseph’s brothers took away his coat
of many colors, which represented their father’s favor, but they could not
take away the calling on his life. What people take from you doesn’t stop
your purpose. What’s on the inside is more powerful than anything on the
outside. You keep doing the right thing despite the trouble, despite the
betrayal, despite the bad break, and one day God is going to connect the
dots for you just as He did for Joseph. He’s going to take you to your
throne, so to speak. You’ll say, as Joseph said, “They meant the trouble
for harm, but God used it for my good.”
The Scripture says, “God will deliver us from trouble.” That means
that God will stop the trouble. But consider it in different light. The post
office picks up a package in New York, and drivers deliver it to
California. Deliver means they transport it; they move it from one
location to another. It may have to go through five different stops along
the way. The regional post office sends it to the city post office, which
sends it to the neighborhood post office, and the mailman brings it to
your house. It is delivered. In the same way, right now God is delivering
you from trouble. You’re en route, the process has started, and there may
be some stops along the way. But don’t worry, you’re not delivered yet.
Like Joseph, you may be in a pit or in the prison, but the palace is
coming. You’re in debt, but God is delivering you into abundance.
You’re dealing with depression, but God is delivering you into joy.
You’re facing an illness, but God is delivering you into healing,
wholeness, and victory. When those thoughts tell you, “This trouble is
permanent. It’s never going to change,” just answer back, “No, I’m being
delivered. I’m en route. This trouble is not going to stop me; it’s going to
transport me.”
Let the Journey Begin
I met a young lady named Victoria Arlen who grew up as a healthy child,
very active, but when she was eleven years old had a pain in her side that
wouldn’t go away. The doctors took out her appendix, but that didn’t
help. Then her health started going downhill quickly. She lost thirty
pounds in a few weeks. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Her legs started getting weak, she lost all movement in her arms, she
couldn’t swallow her food, and when she tried to speak, her words
weren’t there. Victoria described it as someone shutting off all the
switches that controlled her body and her brain, until the lights went out.
She ended up in the hospital in a vegetative state. She was unable to
move, to open her eyes, or to communicate in any way—she was gone.
The doctors finally diagnosed the cause as a rare autoimmune disorder
that caused swelling in her brain and spinal cord. They told her family
that she would be a vegetable for the rest of her life, and that there was a
good possibility she wouldn’t live long.
Despite the devastating news, Victoria’s family believed that God
was still in control and that He could restore her health. Her parents and
brothers continued to talk to her as though she were still there and kept
telling her that they loved her. Month after month went by, with no sign
of anything changing. Two years later, this young lady woke up on the
inside. She still couldn’t move or open her eyes, and it didn’t look as
though anything had changed. But now she was aware of everything that
was going on around her. Victoria was trapped inside her own body,
unable to tell people that she was awake again. She could hear the doctors
telling her parents that she was gone and there was no chance of
recovery. She could hear her mother telling her that she loved her and she
was going to make it. Every Sunday her mother would turn on the
television to our services. Victoria would hear us talking about how God
is our healer, how what was meant for harm He’ll use for our advantage,
how trouble is just transportation.
All through the day, lying in her bed paralyzed, trapped in her
motionless body, instead of feeling sorry for herself, Victoria would say
in her mind, I’m a victor and not a victim. Thoughts would tell her,
You’re trapped. You’ll never get out. She would answer back, No, my
time is coming. This is not how my story ends. She prayed that she could
give her family a sign that she was in there. Three years after her body
shut down, she was able to open her eyes, but she still had no other
movement. Her mom asked her a question and said, “If you can
understand, blink once for yes.” She blinked once, and they knew she was
still there. That was the start of a long journey back. She learned how to
speak again, move again, and eat again. In September 2010, four years
after she had become sick, she was able to go back to school. Everything
woke up except her legs. She was paralyzed from the waist down. She
was happy to be in a wheelchair, grateful to be out, but she wasn’t
satisfied. She knew that what God had started, He was going to finish.
She was told that she would never be able to walk, but through prayer,
extraordinarily hard work, and thousands of hours of training, in
November 2015 she took a small step. In March 2016 she defied the
odds, let go of her crutches, and took her first steps without assistance.
Now she no longer needs the wheelchair or crutches, and she walks as
though nothing were ever wrong.
After a ten-year journey, this beautiful twenty-one-year-old lady
became one of the youngest on-air personalities for ESPN. She’s also an
actress, a model, and a motivational speaker. Friend, trouble is
transportation. Victoria told me, “I wouldn’t choose what happened to
me, but I wouldn’t change it.” It was meant for harm, but God turned it
around and used it for good. You may feel as though you’re trapped in
your circumstances, trapped in an addiction, trapped in depression,
trapped in mediocrity. It doesn’t feel as though anybody can hear you.
You don’t think you’ll ever get out. But as was true for Victoria, that’s
not how your story ends. The God who brought her out is the God who’s
going to bring you out. I believe some dreams are waking up, hope is
waking up, healing is waking up, abundance is waking up. That trouble is
not going to stop you. It’s going to push you into a level of your destiny
that you would never have experienced without it. As with Victoria, you
wouldn’t choose what you’ve been through, but when you see how God
pays you back, when you see the new doors that open, when you see how
He turns it to your advantage, you’ll say, “I wouldn’t change it.”
Shake off the self-pity, shake off the discouragement. You’re
anointed for that trouble. You may not understand what’s happening. It
may feel as though you’re going in the wrong direction, but God is in
control. That trouble is not going to get the best of you. It may look like a
setback, but really it’s a setup for God to do something greater. If you’ll
trust God in the trouble, that trouble is going to become transportation.
God is going to open new doors, turn impossible situations around, and
take you to the fullness of your destiny.
BLESSED IN THE DARKNESS 