Trials and God's silence

I'm reading in Genesis and have come once more to the story of Joseph. What an amazing man this was. His story is one that you couldn't come up with in your wildest dreams.

He was one of 12 brothers, loved by his dad, but hated by his brothers. He was thrown into a pit and then sold into slavery by his own brothers. Joseph found himself a slave in Egypt at the age of 17. He served one of the royal officials for a while, but was soon thrown into prison for a number of years. What were his thoughts through all of this? Did he get mad at God? Did he ask why? We have no detail of his thoughts and only a few of his words, but what we do see is a man who feared and trusted God through it all....and through it all it appears that God was silent. He spent these 13 years not knowing why he was there, what God was doing or what God had planned for him. Through it all he maintained his faith and fear of God. Even in the silent years. One thing that Joseph had to have to come through this was a real faith in the sovereign God. A faith that God was in charge of his life. So often, when trials come in peoples lives, their response is panic....as if suddenly, because they are having problems, God has lost control! What if this is part of his plan for you? Can you trust him then? The book of Psalms tells us that Joseph's chains disciplined him. His years in prison molded him into the person he was when brought to Pharaoh and then given rule of all of Egypt. This man we see at age 30 was groomed in God's "school" for those 13 years to prepare him for the task God designed him for. He's doing that with us as well. There is preparation for each of us for what God has designed us for. How long before we do it? How long do we wait to serve God as he designed us? Some are in "school" for years, and then the assignment comes. For me it was 18 years in "Egypt" as I was prepared for what he has me doing now. While you are going through the trials, while you are waiting for what God has for you, while you endure his silence....are you trusting him? Do you know he's still in charge when it seems everything is out of control? Will you allow his "chains" to discipline you and prepare you for the task he has designed you to do? God is in the business of preparing men and women to serve him and be part of his kingdom work, but there are times when the preparation takes longer than the work we are to do. While you are going through the trials and enduring God's silence trust him. He has an amazing plan.