“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29: 11.

One day a young boy got a vision from God that he would be the one taking care of his whole family. Though his brothers hated him for that and did not believe him, the young boy remained very enthusiastic. And yet, he knew nothing about how that vision would come to pass. As you might have guessed, that boy is none but Joseph, the son of Jacob (Genesis 37). One thing I found most interesting about Joseph is his unwavering trust in God no matter the situations that made up his story.

The Lord said he knows the plans he have for you (Jeremiah 29:11). However, we believers sometimes like to take shortcuts, hoping to fulfil God's promise in our lives. By shortcut here I mean any road that is not God’s preferred one or one that violates his commandment. Joseph did have many opportunities to take shortcuts to get to the top. For example, at Potiphar’s palace, he could have chosen to sin against God by having sex with his master’s wife who, by the way, found him very handsome (Genesis 39). From a human perspective, having sex with one’s master’s wife could be the easiest and probably the most excellent shortcut to quickly get to the top for the master’s wife would easily mobilize her resources and influence to propel one at the top.

Are you looking for a job, a promotion, a spouse or a business opportunity? Though it might be taking time to materialize, ensure you resist the urge of taking shortcuts for they end up being costly. Just trust God! From experience, shortcuts have proven to make situations worse for believers. For example, Abraham took a shortcut to have Ismael and till now the world is still suffering from the consequences of that initiative (Genesis 16). David took a shortcut to deal with his situation with Beth Sheba and had to face the consequences.

It is also likely that the difficult situation you and I are in now are God’s perfect plan because the Bible says his ways are inscrutable (Romans 11:33, Psalm 139:17). Remember, Joseph’s being sold and he going to prison were God’s perfect plan to achieve the vision Joseph once had.

May God give us the wisdom to avoid shortcuts and trust him in any situation.