“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7)
Eventually, Joseph was able to see how God brought good out of the evil done to him. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Genesis 50:20) But when his situation was at its darkest, Joseph had to walk in faith that God had a purpose in it all.
Too often, when we don’t understand why life is hard we become bitter in spirit. But Paul said we are to know that God works all things together for good for us if we love Him and are the called according to His purpose. Rejoicing always is impossible when we are living for less than God’s purpose. We just want to be happy – and some situations are not conducive to happiness. But God has created us for His pleasure, and it is His pleasure to see His Son manifested in our life.
The question we should ask at all times is: “How can Jesus be magnified through this?” This is the mindset of those who are hungry to know Jesus. And it is the attitude that causes us to “take pleasure” even in life’s hardest experiences, and find “sweetness” in “every bitter thing.”