The Order is Everything (a.k.a.Nothing You're Going Through Is Wasted!)

There is a phrase we use all the time without thinking: out of order.

I actually looked it up. Turns out we have the British Parliament to thank for it. When a member of parliament spoke outside their designated turn, they were literally out of order, and everything they said while out of order didn't count. It got me thinking about how many situations in life hinge entirely on sequence.

Think about it. The same letters that spell Santa can spell something very different. An apology that says "I'm sorry, but you hurt my feelings" is a terrible apology because everything after the but is what you really mean. Flip the order: "You hurt my feelings, but I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry." Same ingredients. Completely different outcome. Or consider an airplane–you can't cruise before you ascend, and you definitely don't want to land before you descend. The order is everything.

Here's what I believe: God built the world with an order to it. Ecclesiastes says he has made everything beautiful in its time. Paul says when you go against the grain, you get splinters. There's a rhythm to this universe, and to fight it is foolish.

So what does that mean for us when life feels completely out of order?

The story I keep coming back to is Joseph. Sold by his brothers. Lied about by Potiphar's wife. Forgotten in a dungeon by the very man he helped. By any measure, his life looked completely out of order. And here's what gets me–he never let his spirit get bitter. There's not a trace of vindictiveness in him. No "when I'm in charge, they're going to pay." No, "you weren't with me in the gutter, so you're not getting on the gravy train." None of it.

He was actually in a position to take his brothers out. And instead, at the end of it all, he looks back and says: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good , in order to save many people alive."

The word right there is order. God had one the whole time. Joseph believed it even as he was being sold to slave traders. He believed it when he was being lied about. He believed it sitting forgotten in that dungeon. He refused to eat the chicken before it was cooked. He trusted that this was just a step, just a chapter…not his whole story. Potiphar's wife didn't get to write his story. The pit didn't get to write his story. God was writing it, and the order had a purpose.

Wherever Joseph found himself–pit, prison, palace–he decided to be a blessing right there, right then. Not when things got better. Not in a different city or a different circumstance. Right here. Right now. And on his worst day, he believed for the day that was coming.

That's the invitation for you and me. If your life feels out of order right now, if you're in the pit or the prison, if the hardship seems random and pointless, I want you to hear this: it couldn't have reached you if it didn't go through God first. You are under orders. And those orders have an outcome you cannot yet see.

Don't let the chapter you're in convince you it's the whole story. Turn the page. Trust the sequence. God doesn't waste a trial, and he doesn't waste a day.

The order is everything. And God's order always leads somewhere.

To go deeper, request an exclusive 8-week guided journey through 1 Peter, Dawn is Coming. This journal and video sermon series walks you through the book of 1 Peter and will help you see your hardship through the lens of eternity and discover a way to live beautifully even when life isn't.‍ ‍Request your copy today!