"Holes" in the Bible

The Bible gives us the highlights of people's lives, but what happened in the “holes”, the places where the Bible doesn't tell us what happened, is just as important. However, it's hard to remember that when you're in one. I read a book by Alicia Britt Chole called “Anonymous”, that are about Jesus' “hidden years” before His ministry began.  What happened in people's lives before and after the “Sunday School story” that they're famous for?

Consider the two-year “hole” in Joseph's life at the end of Genesis 40 after he interpreted the cupbearer's dream and Joseph's own release.  He continued to have hope even when it looked like God and people had abandoned him.

What about the 10-day “hole” in Jeremiah 42 (chapters 39-43 give you the context). In this hole, the people went from being obedient servants of God, to refusing to listen to God in 10 days!  The delay showed that their hearts were more given over to fear than to faith in God.

What about Esther in Chapter 2? What quiet steps of obedience helped prepare her for the extraordinary steps of obedience and faith that would be asked of her when the stakes were high?

In these examples their faithfulness or unfaithfulness in the quiet, mundane seasons of waiting and working set them up for success or failure when God's “big story” found them and swept them up. We're trying to learn to be patient and diligent in the day-to-day, ordinary things in life that are ultimately responsible for building our character.

Where are you working patiently, preparing for Him to do something great with you?

Today I"m linking up with Better Mom