{"id":3848,"date":"2018-05-24T10:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=3848"},"modified":"2019-03-14T17:36:53","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T22:36:53","slug":"tragedy-to-triumph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2018\/05\/24\/tragedy-to-triumph\/","title":{"rendered":"Tragedy to Triumph"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written By: Nicole Hammond<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever watched a movie and found yourself yelling at the screen, \u201cDon\u2019t open the door!\u201d or \u201cGrab the gun!\u201d or \u201cRun the other way!\u201d? \u00a0You\u2019re looking from a different angle, so you\u2019re able to shout that, but the character doesn\u2019t understand the inevitable tragedy that\u2019s about to happen because they\u2019re usually left in the dark. More often than not, the lead character is rescued and there\u2019s a good ending.<\/p>\n

In the book of Genesis, Joseph\u2019s story is filled with tragedy. He came from a very dysfunctional home\u201411 brothers, 1 sister, his father, and 4 wives. His mother died when he was young. He was hated by his brothers, thrown into a pit, left for dead, and then sold into slavery to an Egyptian officer. Then he was falsely accused of rape by his master\u2019s wife and thrown into prison. But in each circumstance, the Bible says, \u201cBut God was with him and blessed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh\u2019s dream and became the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. You know the story; he ultimately came face to face with his brothers\u2014his abusers\u2014 and instead of repaying evil for evil, he offered mercy and forgiveness. He told them \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid, God sent me here to preserve your lives so a great nation would come from you. God turned into good what you meant for evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

God didn\u2019t make the brothers hate, abuse, or sell him into slavery. God didn\u2019t make Potiphar\u2019s wife falsely accuse him or her husband throw him into prison. But God did<\/em> take all the messy parts of Joseph\u2019s life and make something beautiful out of it.<\/p>\n

I find so much comfort in this story\u2014the least likely place that Joseph would have expected the God of Israel to be was in Egypt, and in the pit of the prison. Yet God was there! And He blessed Joseph there! Egypt and the prison pit represent a place of oppression, bondage, pain, and tragedy.<\/p>\n

Psalms 41:11, \u201cYou have not let my enemies triumph over me.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus, our Redeemer, is full of grace, and will redeem every disgrace.<\/p>\n

Our son, Ryan, recently released an album and one of the songs is called \u201cOnly Jesus.\u201d It says, \u201cWho commands the wind and waves? Who can speak in galaxies and wonders? Who can calm the storm in me? Who can spin a tragedy into triumph? Who\u2019s the God above all things? Who\u2019s the God of suddenly and faithful? Who\u2019s the One that died for me? Who has bore the gravity of all my sin? His love invites me in. Jesus, only Jesus. He is Jesus, precious Jesus. Majesty have Your way in me; You are all I need and the song I sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Providence is the unseen hand of God in the events of your life. Each circumstance comes for a purpose and is bound by God\u2019s grace, love, and plan. God takes every piece of your broken story and your broken life and He makes something beautiful out of it.<\/p>\n

I had some major dysfunction in my life growing up. My dad left my older sister and my mom, while she was pregnant with my twin and me. Eventually, she remarried and shortly after that, I began to suffer abuse at the hands of my stepfather. It lasted for 8 years. I used to ask, \u201cWhy me, God?\u201d as I was in the darkness of my tragic story. God didn\u2019t make my dad leave nor my stepdad abuse me, but He did make something beautiful out of my story.<\/p>\n

Two years after I married my husband Mark, we attended an \u201cEncounter with God\u201d event, and I was able to forgive my deceased stepdad for the abuse and my father for abandoning me. The freedom that came over me was like nothing I had ever experienced. One year later, I led my father to the Lord and was used as a tool to unlock freedom in his life. Not too much later, my husband and I learned about some tragic circumstances that a young lady in our youth ministry was facing. After praying together, we brought her into our home and family and raised her as our daughter. I immediately understood WHY I had suffered such abuse.\u00a0 While God didn\u2019t cause the tragic events, His grace redeemed my disgrace, and He used me as a tool to help heal our daughter. I would go through it all again, knowing what I know now.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you are in Egypt, or in a PIT\u2014pretty intense trial<\/em>, or you\u2019ve experienced great pain in tragedy. <\/em>I hope that you will trust that God is with you and He will bless you. \u00a0He is working behind the scenes, making something beautiful out of the broken pieces of your life.<\/p>\n

If He could take Joseph from son to slave, from the pit to the palace, He can turn your tragedy into triumph as well.\u00a0 The tragedy doesn\u2019t get the last word, God does\u2014it\u2019s HIStory. \u00a0Whether He redeems your mess on earth or in Heaven, He will do it. Romans 8:28 \u201cGod causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,37],"tags":[749,16,872,125,873],"class_list":{"0":"post-3848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-womens-ministries","9":"tag-749","10":"tag-discipleship","11":"tag-joseph","12":"tag-leadership","13":"tag-nicole-hammond","14":"entry"},"title_es":"Tragedia para triunfar","content_es":"Escrito por: Nicole Hammond.<\/strong> \u00bfAlguna vez vio una pel\u00edcula y se encontr\u00f3 gritando a la pantalla, \"\u00a1No abras la puerta!\" O \"\u00a1Toma el arma!\" O \"\u00a1Corre por el otro lado!\"? Est\u00e1s mirando desde un \u00e1ngulo diferente, as\u00ed que puedes gritar eso, pero el personaje no comprende la inevitable tragedia que est\u00e1 a punto de suceder porque generalmente se quedan en la oscuridad. La mayor\u00eda de las veces, el personaje principal es rescatado y hay un buen final. En el libro de G\u00e9nesis, la historia de Jos\u00e9 est\u00e1 llena de tragedia. Ven\u00eda de un hogar muy disfuncional: 11 hermanos, 1 hermana, su padre y 4 esposas. Su madre muri\u00f3 cuando \u00e9l era joven. Fue odiado por sus hermanos, arrojado a un pozo, abandonado por muerto, y luego vendido como esclavo a un oficial egipcio. Luego fue acusado falsamente de violaci\u00f3n por la esposa de su amo y enviado a prisi\u00f3n. Pero en cada circunstancia, la Biblia dice: \"Pero Dios estaba con \u00e9l y lo bendijo\". Eventualmente, Jos\u00e9 interpret\u00f3 el sue\u00f1o de Fara\u00f3n y se convirti\u00f3 en el segundo hombre m\u00e1s poderoso de todo Egipto. Usted sabe la historia; finalmente se encontr\u00f3 cara a cara con sus hermanos -sus abusadores- y en lugar de pagar el mal por el mal, ofreci\u00f3 misericordia y perd\u00f3n. \u00c9l les dijo: \"No tengan miedo, Dios me envi\u00f3 aqu\u00ed para preservar sus vidas para que una gran naci\u00f3n salga de ustedes. Dios convirti\u00f3 en bueno lo que significabas para el mal. \"Dios no hizo que los hermanos lo odiaran, abusen o lo vendan como esclavo. Dios no hizo que la esposa de Potifar lo acusara falsamente de que \u00e9l o su esposo lo arrojaran a la prisi\u00f3n. Pero Dios tom\u00f3<\/em> todas las partes sucias de la vida de Jos\u00e9 y hacer algo hermoso fuera de \u00e9l. Encuentro tanto consuelo en esta historia, el lugar menos probable que Jos\u00e9 habr\u00eda esperado que fuera el Dios de Israel en Egipto, y en el pozo de la prisi\u00f3n. \u00a1Sin embargo, Dios estaba all\u00ed! \u00a1Y bendijo a Jos\u00e9 all\u00ed! Egipto y el pozo de la prisi\u00f3n representan un lugar de opresi\u00f3n, esclavitud, dolor y tragedia. Salmos 41:11, \"No has permitido que mis enemigos triunfen sobre m\u00ed.\" Jes\u00fas, nuestro Redentor, est\u00e1 lleno de gracia, y redimir\u00e1 cada deshonra. Nuestro hijo, Ryan, recientemente lanz\u00f3 un \u00e1lbum y una de las canciones se llama \"Only Jesus\". Dice: \"\u00bfQui\u00e9n controla el viento y las olas? \u00bfQui\u00e9n puede hablar en galaxias y maravillas? \u00bfQui\u00e9n puede calmar la tormenta en m\u00ed? \u00bfQui\u00e9n puede convertir una tragedia en un triunfo? \u00bfQui\u00e9n es el Dios por encima de todas las cosas? \u00bfQui\u00e9n es el Dios de repente y fiel? \u00bfQui\u00e9n es el que muri\u00f3 por m\u00ed? \u00bfQui\u00e9n ha soportado la gravedad de todo mi pecado? Su amor me invita a entrar. Jes\u00fas, solo Jes\u00fas. \u00c9l es Jes\u00fas, precioso Jes\u00fas. Majestad haz Tu camino en m\u00ed; Eres todo lo que necesito y la canci\u00f3n que canto \". La Providencia es la mano invisible de Dios en los eventos de tu vida. Cada circunstancia viene con un prop\u00f3sito y est\u00e1 sujeta a la gracia, el amor y el plan de Dios. Dios toma cada pieza de tu historia rota y tu vida rota y hace algo hermoso con ella. Tuve una disfunci\u00f3n importante en mi vida mientras crec\u00eda. Mi pap\u00e1 dej\u00f3 a mi hermana mayor y a mi mam\u00e1, mientras ella estaba embarazada de mi hermano y de m\u00ed. Eventualmente, ella se volvi\u00f3 a casar y poco despu\u00e9s de eso, comenc\u00e9 a sufrir abusos a manos de mi padrastro. Dur\u00f3 8 a\u00f1os. Sol\u00eda \u200b\u200bpreguntar: \"\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 a m\u00ed, Dios?\", Como estaba en la oscuridad de mi tr\u00e1gica historia. Dios no hizo que mi padre se fuera ni mi padrastro abus\u00f3 de m\u00ed, pero hizo algo hermoso con mi historia. Dos a\u00f1os despu\u00e9s de casarme con mi esposo Mark, asistimos a un evento de \"Encuentro con Dios\", y pude perdonar a mi fallecido padrastro por el abuso y a mi padre por abandonarme. La libertad que me sobrevino no se parec\u00eda a nada que hubiera experimentado alguna vez. Un a\u00f1o despu\u00e9s, llev\u00e9 a mi padre al Se\u00f1or y lo us\u00e9 como una herramienta para liberar la libertad en su vida. No mucho despu\u00e9s, mi esposo y yo aprendimos sobre algunas circunstancias tr\u00e1gicas que enfrentaba una joven en nuestro ministerio juvenil. Despu\u00e9s de orar juntos, la trajimos a nuestro hogar y a nuestra familia y la criamos como nuestra hija. Inmediatamente entend\u00ed POR QU\u00c9 hab\u00eda sufrido tal abuso. Aunque Dios no caus\u00f3 los eventos tr\u00e1gicos, su gracia redimi\u00f3 mi desgracia, y me us\u00f3 como una herramienta para ayudar a sanar a nuestra hija. Volver\u00eda a pasar por todo eso, sabiendo lo que s\u00e9 ahora. Tal vez est\u00e9s en Egipto, o en un PIT: prueba bastante intensa<\/em> , o has experimentado un gran dolor en la tragedia.<\/em> Espero que conf\u00edes en que Dios est\u00e1 contigo y que \u00c9l te bendecir\u00e1. \u00c9l est\u00e1 trabajando detr\u00e1s de escena, haciendo algo hermoso de los pedazos de tu vida. Si pudiera llevar a Jos\u00e9 de hijo a esclavo, desde el pozo al palacio, tambi\u00e9n puede convertir tu tragedia en triunfo. La tragedia no tiene la \u00faltima palabra, Dios s\u00ed; es HIStory. Ya sea que \u00c9l redima su desorden en la tierra o en el Cielo, \u00c9l lo har\u00e1. Romanos 8:28 \"Dios hace que todas las cosas obren juntas por el bien de aquellos que lo aman y son llamados de acuerdo a su prop\u00f3sito para ellos\".","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Tragedy-to-Triumph.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-104","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}