Fruitful in the Land of My Affliction

I have been reading through the story of Joseph and was struck by the name he gave his 2nd son.

Genesis 41:52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

Fruitful in the land of my affliction. Wow. Many thoughts hit me as I meditate on why Joseph named his son Ephraim (which sounds like the Hebrew for fruitful). First, I resist the name. I don't want to be fruitful in the land of my affliction--I want my affliction to end!! And then I want to be fruitful in the beautiful land I imagined would be God's best for His children. But, like Joseph, I am usually powerless to end my affliction (whatever form it may take). And then I must wrestle with God--"How can I do what You have called me to do in THESE circumstances?!"

The second thing that I realize (with a more objective look at Scripture) is that no one in Scripture seems to be very fruitful EXCEPT in the land of their affliction. In fact, you can argue from Scripture that suffering, affliction, and death to self are ESSENTIAL for fruitfulness.

John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

I have situations in my life that plague me, that I would desperately like to see changed. But today, I am moved by God's story in the life of Joseph to meditate on what it looks like to be fruitful in the very places from which I would most like to be delivered. And I receive hope that affliction doesn't end the possibility of fruitfulness, but may instead be the very thing that prepares the ground for "fruit that remains."

John 15:16 NAS "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain ... "