Measuring Up

"Look in the Old Testament at Joseph's life-rejection, harassment, and injustice. And what was the result? A wise man came forth out of the prison, one who rose up to handle the responsibility of being second in command over the most powerful nation in the world at the time. Somehow Joseph was able to trust God's love regardless of being locked in a cell for an offense he didn't commit.

When I have to sit long in a doctor's waiting cell-I mean, office-I get whiny. I can't imagine Joseph's years in a dank creepy room without peanut butter or Nick at Nite.

I have to remind myself when times crowd in with pressure, when people hurt my feelings, when my job loses its appeal, then my children fail to heed my advice, and when the newspapers read like doomsday reports, that God didn't promise life would be easy but that he would be with us as Buzz Lightyear(children's hero) would say, "To infinity and beyond!"

God can take a jail sentence and use it for the good of the prisoner, whether we are incarcerated behind iron bars or emotional ones. He uses our rejection issues to tutor us in the importance of compassion and inclusion. And harassment is just the right material to teach us the importance knowing who we are in Christ, so we are not intimidated or persuaded that we are hopeless.

So today if you are wondering how you measure up, rest assured that God is on your side. And if you are trying to figure out God's measurements, know that his love is beyond knowledge. Try as we might, we cannot fully comprehend the immeasurable love of God-although one of the indicators is Jesus."---excerpt from Women of Faith Devotional Infinite Grace "Measuring Up" by Patsy Clairmont.