Painfully Exalted

"But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance."
Genesis 45:7

I have been enjoying, again, reading the story of Joseph. Remember, his brothers sold him into slavery and he was carried off to Egypt. After suffering many years in prison, being falsely accused, he was exalted to a place equal to Pharaoh himself. It was with much pain that Joseph reached his dream. You see, God had told him many years before, that even his brothers and father would bow before him. Yet the struggles that ensued seemed to speak the opposite.
    Have you ever thought that the difficult things you now go through may be a pathway of life and deliverance for others? I think so. Joseph was exalted to a place of rulership, not for his own ego, but to provide deliverance for others. He saved nations from starvation. But perhaps the most important thing he accomplished was the reconciliation of himself to his brothers. As a result, his whole family was saved the agony of losing everything through severe famine.
    So think of your life as a possibility. You are the possibility of deliverance for your family, friends and community. This great result often comes through suffering before the exaltation is revealed. In fact, the exaltation may not even come in this life. But if you will persevere through suffering and live your life knowing that it is about others as much as it is about yourself, you will wear the crowns of victory.
    Like Joseph, you and I have the great privilege of enduring a little suffering for the sake of our families and friends. When people look at our lives, they must see people who endured for the cause of Christ. When they see that, they will want to come along for the ride. Imagine the joy of entering into eternity with your family and friends following. And all this because you lived so they could be delivered. Pain...deliverance...exaltation, this is the blessing of living in Christ. "Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
Romans 8:17