Genesis 50:20 – BUT GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Jacob has just died and Joseph’s brothers have come to him in a desperate act to persuade him from not seeking revenge upon them for selling him as a slave some 39 years before. Joseph replies with great maturity in reminding his brothers that while they meant evil against him so many years before, God had HIS eye upon the life of Joseph and God used the evil of his brothers to bring about HIS perfect will.
Have you ever received something special from someone that you did not expect? Maybe you had been praying for a particular need for some time and all of a sudden, God used this individual to answer your prayer. Were you quick to share with that person how God had used them to meet a need in your life? When God is blessing, it is easy to draw people’s attention to God and HIS goodness to you.
Nonetheless, it is completely different to see the blessing of God upon your life when people are doing terrible things to you. You know the feeling, someone betrayed you or someone turned their back upon you when you needed them. Did you see the evil of this person as a blessing from God? Did you thank God for the evil actions of someone who hurt you very much?
Many terrible things had happened to Joseph and he was able to forgive and move on with his life. Joseph did not allow the bad things that had happen in his life to control him, instead, Joseph chose to do that which is right in the eyes of God and focus upon serving God today where God had placed him today.
Job was a wise man when he recognized that he had received many good things from God and that God had the right to allow evil things to also occur to him. Job boldly proclaimed that he came into the world with nothing and that when he died, he would leave with nothing.
People naturally like to complain. It does not take very much work to find something to complain about. Nonetheless, it sometimes takes herculean effort to find something to praise God for. The sin nature of man naturally sees what is wrong and we tend to dwell upon it.
Joseph understood that he could spend the rest of his life dwelling upon the years that he was a slave and a prisoner or he could spend the rest of his life serving God where God placed him that day. Because Joseph chose to dwell in the present rather than in the past, he was able to forgive his brothers for how they had hurt him.
Do you desire to have true freedom in life? If so, you need to add temperance to your life. Temperance is one of the precious promises that God has given to HIS children to assist them in their daily walk. By adding temperance to your life, you are able to overcome the temptation to be controlled by the things of this world. By exercising self-control, you are able to resist the urge to complain about the bad things and praise HIM for the good.
You can dwell in the past and allow bitterness to control you or you can see the evil in the past as just one of the ways that God directed you to where HE has placed you. Remember, you need to bloom right where HE has planted you. The grass may appear to be greener on the other side of the fence but you are on the side of the fence that God needs you at.