Max Lucado draws from Joseph’s pit-to-palace story to encourage believers in the midst of suffering

With 30 years of experience as a pastor, New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado has counseled countless people in the pit of trouble and despair. He has also seen what God can do for them. Still, he sometimes struggled for the right thing to say, so he turned to the story of Joseph—the focus of his fall release, You’ll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times.

In the book, Lucado shares this reminder based on Joseph’s experiences: “You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime, don’t be foolish or naïve. But don’t despair either. With God’s help, you will get through this.”

We often fear we won’t get through our trials, Lucado says, that the struggles will never end. However, he writes, “Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras: bold, brassy, and everywhere.” 

He emphasizes that Joseph’s long journey through mistreatment and hardship ultimately demonstrates that what Satan intends for evil, God redeems for good, as Joseph tells his brothers in Gen. 50:20.

Through the years, Lucado has learned the essential question to ask those who are suffering: “What do you still have that you cannot lose?” He asserts that even in the darkest pit the one gift we cannot ever lose is our destiny. While problems will not last forever, he points out, we will last forever—and we are not alone. God is with us in the pit, just as He was with Joseph.

Joseph “models for us that even in the middle of tough times, you’ve got to make the right decisions,” Lucado told Christian Retailing. “Don’t make matters worse by doing something worse. Just do the next right thing and trust God to get you through it.” 

Near the end of his book, Lucado reminds readers that the most important reason we will get through our turbulent times is not because we are big or strong or good, but because Christ is our Brother, and he is for us.

 A six-session study guide and DVD are also available separately or as a bundle. For more information or to order, contact Thomas Nelson at 800-251-4000 or visit www.thomasnelson.com.

• Prev
• Next