Everybody Needs a Stripper in Their Life

What’s your chosen stripper’s name?  Not the one swinging on the pole. Or the one that stimulates your sensuality. Oh no I’m referring to the one that was used as an agent of change in your life.  Strippers come in array of disguises. Just take a look at Joseph’s story in the Bible.

In Genesis 37, we find the story of this young man, who was favored my his father but hated my his own brothers. Joseph was adorned with a special coat signifying the esteemed position he held in his father’s eyes. And if that was not enough, he was a dreamer. All of this contributed to him being put on the strippers’ hit list. For him, his strippers were cloaked in the form of his own brothers. They were determined to dash his hope and kill his dreams so much so that they set a plot to fake his death and secretly sale him into slavery.

But that wasn’t the end of Joseph’s story.  I would imagine that his route from favor to the pit to the place brought about a level of maturity in him that he would have never gained had he not had to experience the heat of his brothers’ vendetta.
Our strippers may not be people but perhaps they are situations like failed marriages, physical/sexual abuse, rejection or disappointments. Regardless of the form the stripper comes in, it’s purpose is the same to render you void of hope, dreams, faith, and identity.
However  your story (and my story) doesn’t have to end there. God can take all of stuff we encounter in this life and work it for our good. Some things like pride, selfishness, and independence gets worked out of us while other things such as perseverance, gentleness, meekness, and love get worked in us. 
Are there some situations in your life that is attempting to hold you hostage and keep you in the grips of pain and despair. If so maybe it’s time you look at from a different perspective, so that you may be able to proclaim the enemy meant for your harm but God worked for your good.