God has a pre-determined plan and place of service for every one of His people. Preparation for the work that God has ordained for us to do in His service may take years, or even decades, as we can see from the lives of
both Joseph and Moses. And as we can also see from their lives, the process of this preparation will involve sufferings, losses and hardships of various kinds, which is consistent with John 12:24-26 and other passages of Scripture.
When he was a slave in Potiphar’s house, and later when he was
confined in Pharaoh’s prison, Joseph in his wildest dreams could not have imagined what God was going to do as a result of all that he was suffering. Moses also could not possibly have imagined how God would use all of the losses that he had endured for any good purpose.
We can see from the Scriptures that it was given to both Joseph and Moses to be able to look back and see the good that God brought about through the years of suffering and hardship they endured. However, as we consider the experiences of our own lives, we may not be able to look back and see with clarity in this lifetime what good came out of the sufferings that we endured. Instead, our experience may be more like Job’s, and we may not be shown what God was accomplishing through our sufferings and losses until we are together with Him in Heaven. Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that now, during our present lives, we see and know and understand only in part, but the time will come when we will see clearly and understand fully.
Paul also taught in Romans 15:4 that everything written in the Scriptures was written to instruct and encourage us. Everything recorded in the Scriptures of the ways in which God has worked in the lives of His servants to prepare them for the work and place of service that He has ordained for them is recorded to teach us about some of the ways in which He may work in our lives as well, as He prepares each of us for the work and place of service that He has ordained for us.
The timeless principle of spiritual fruit bearing revealed by Jesus in John 12:24-26 was at work in the lives of Job, Joseph, and Moses. The sufferings and losses they endured and the good that God brought about through their sufferings are recorded in the Scriptures for our benefit, so that we may have insight and understanding of how God works in the lives of His people to accomplish His will, plan and purpose.
As we have seen from the Scriptures before, the troubles, hardships, and sufferings of our present lives all have eternal value (2 Corinthians 4:16-
18, Romans 8:17-18, 28, others). Just as we have seen demonstrated in the lives of Job, Joseph and Moses, God will bring forth life and good through the deaths that our sufferings have wrought in our lives. And as He does so, we will bear a harvest of fruit that will last, which will achieve for us a share in Christ’s eternal glory.