God meant it for good
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. -Genesis 50:15-ff
The unfolding drama that is the life of Joseph is an epic story. From most beloved of his legendary father, to the great mystery of his staged mock death, to a slave in a country and culture a world away from his home, to the leader of a great man’s house, to a prisoner, to the second most powerful man in the most powerful country of his era. And through it all, from the extreme highs to the lowest lows, from being lied to, about, from being hated by his own flesh, to forgotten in jail, the mark of Joseph’s life is faith and faithfulness. He loved God.
The words that keep floating through my heart the last few weeks have been “Do not fear…As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
A Pandemic Came:
Evil: Whine, complain, murmur, blame, politicize, become lazy, be on edge with those closest to you
Good: More time with family, more time for prayers, study, add to your tool kit, learn a new skill.
Racial Tensions Boiled Over:
Evil: Buy into the political narrative of either side, hate those who are different than you, be triggered by any change in cultural norms.
Good: Pray for peace, reach out to friends who look different than you, express love for all regardless of race or nationality, be genuine.
Churches Offer Online Worship Services:
Evil: Complain at any glitch, gossip, neglect your congregation for one more glitzy, compare as if this is only a performance and you the audience, treat worship as at your convenience, minimize that you are worshipping the Lord and treat it as just another TV program, use streaming to allow you to neglect services (I.e. you go anywhere else you want to but say you can’t come back to church).
Good: Take advantage of the privilege of being able to worship from home, take the time to reach out and connect more directly with your church family who you can’t see face-to-face, view multiple services in a week, go back and review the sermon, appreciate those who do the work of streaming/connecting/making sure there is an online service each week, teach your family of the value and priority of worship even in a pandemic, increase longing for when the church can be back together.
A Bombing Knocks Out Your Services:
Evil: Let the week offline set you back from future online worship opportunities, complain.
Good: A chance to worship as a family unit.
satan will continue to plague us with evil because he is. BUT God “meant it for good.” God took evil and turned it toward good instead. As a Christian, we can take any situation and “mean it for good.” Bless you, as you do.