One of most powerful life stories that I have ever heard, was about a young man who experienced what seemed like impossible obstacles to overcome. This young man experienced tragedies, that most of us could only imagine, and yet his resolve and trust in God, caused him to become one of the most powerful men in the country. He was an extremely gifted young man in a house full of extremely gifted people. Yet, because he was his Father’s favorite, his older half brother’s despised him. (His dad had some serious baby mama drama, going on under his roof.) His brother’s were on the record, as not being able to say a single nice thing about him. Talk about some haters, and in your own household nontheless. Home is supposed to be a place where you feel love, and appreciation, where you can be nurtured and have a sense of belonging. Well not for the young man in our story.

The haters eventually became so outraged at the young man, they figured that he would be better off dead. They plotted to kill him and cover their tracks with an elaborate lie. You may be able to tell bye now that the life story I am writing about is of “Joseph” from the Bible. (The story can be found in Genesis 37-50 ) As if everything I have written till this point was not bad enough, Joseph eventually was sold into slavery, wrongfully accused and thrown in prison. It is estimated that over a 13 year period, Joseph lived a life that most would call, down right horrific. I can only imagine that he prayed like the psalmist:

O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? – Psalm 10:1; O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” – Psalm 3:1-2

Have you ever found yourself praying those words, or something similar? I know I have. “Lord help me to shake these hater’s off.” The term “Haters” is used very often in our society, and I am sure Joseph could definately identify with those of us, who have people who “Hate on Us”. I have an opinion that some of us are overly sensitive, and categorize others as a Hater prematurely, but that’s for another post another time. I want to address today, and in the coming weeks, those who have legitimate Haters in their life, and expose the fact that God actually uses haters in our lives, to accomplish for our benefit. My prayer is by the time you have read all of my posts about “How Haters Help”, you will embrace the Haters in your life, as a way to draw you closer to God.

One of the great mysteries of God is His ways, and although mysterious they are always successful. (Romans 11:33, Psalm 10:5) Sometimes He appears to be turning His head, or giving us a deaf ear, but God doesn’t do anything without purpose. He is purposed to mature our faith, and transform us into men and women who live like Christ. He is more concered with our character than our comfort. – Chuck Swindoll. Character is built as we go through dark times. Anyone can curse and yell, when Haters, do what Haters do. But someone who has had their character developed, can find peace and wisdom in the midst of chaos that is all around them.

I am reminded of the scene from the Movie “Ray”. When Ray Charles was a young boy, not long after he lost his sight. He ran into the house, tripped, and fell to the ground. Immediately he began to yell for his Mama. Fighting back her motherly instincts, she continued to do what she was doing prior to him falling. After being in that dark place, for a bit he began to identify familiar sounds, heightening his awareness of the things around him. The slight sound of a grasshopper on the floor, which a person with sight would probably ignore, peaked his curiosity. He then noticed, that his mother was present the entire time. This is just like with God, in our dark hours, like with Joseph, God is ever present, he is simply preparing us to see with our spiritual eyes, and hear with our spiritual ears.

I hope that you will check back as we move through the story of Joseph. Allowing his life story to teach us How Haters Help.

Upcoming Messages:

Haters Help Us Get out of our “Comfort Zone”.
Haters Help Develop Godly character.
Haters Help Us Achieve our purpose.

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