A lot of people I know are having a tough time and I wanted to tell you what I was thinking about this as I was driving into work. Specifically, when God led the Israelites out of Egypt. God took the Israelites the long way. God took the Israelites the winding way He was delivering them. When they finally stopped for the night, God had very deliberately placed them smack in the middle of a rock and a hard place. There was a short, easy way they could have gone, but God didn't do that. So when they stopped for the night, they had the Philistines off if they were to go toward the left or they had the wilderness off toward the right. The Egyptians were bearing down behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them and you know what? God did that on purpose.

The Israelites saw destruction, but God saw deliverance for them. Exodus 14:18 says,

"The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” - Exodus 14:18

It doesn't just say the Egyptians will know I am the Lord. It says the Egyptians will know Yahweh. His covenant relational name! That was missional not just for the Israelites, but also for the Egyptians. What if your suffering is not about you? What if this is your moment to shine through the suffering? What if what you think could be your destruction? God means for your deliverance, but not just your deliverance, the deliverance of those around you. My friend Debbie Stuart says it best, "Your problem is not your problem. It's your perspective of your problem that is your problem." Sometimes God doesn't stop you from being thrown into the furnace because He has a point to make to the people who threw you in.