And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8: 28, NIV
Gracious God, this promise gives us so much hope; that no matter what we are facing, with Your intervention, it will work for our good. Thank You Lord, in Jesus’ name! Amen
Perhaps this is one of the most repeated texts in the entire Bible. Perhaps it is one of the most loved, and clung to, especially in times of difficulties, when things are not making any sense at all! There are times when we may say to God, “God this is not the way it was supposed to be. I did my part, why is this happening? Let us remember at these times (I am talking to myself), that God did not say in some things, He said that in all things He would work for our good! And God keeps His promises, remember?
Let us look at a Bible story that always comes to mind at times like these; the story of Joseph. What did Joseph do to deserve the way his brothers treated him? Why was he cast into prison for a crime he did not commit? Why did the cupbearer not remember to speak to the Pharaoh, on his behalf, until after two long years?
I would like for us to consider some issues in the life of Joseph, that if they were not corrected in a timely manner could have had a negative impact on his character formation. Perhaps then we will be better prepared to answer these questions. His father’s special love for his mother (Rachel), and the fact that his mom had died when he was a very small child, made him the object of his father’s extra-loving attention, in preference to his other siblings. He could begin to think that he was all of that, and then some! He could come to the conclusion that he was born to be served and not to serve. These cultivated tendencies could have made him quite unusable for the purposes of God, and quite vulnerable in the hour of temptation! But God was working in all of these situations to give him “a future.”
While these “petty” things are taking place at our level, from a worldview God is seeing bigger calamities waiting their turn to happen ( a seven year famine such as the world had never experienced). And because He is the great I AM He would pull the different situations together and bring about a solution that would be good for all, especially for Joseph, who had been “called according to [God’s] purpose!” Behind the scenes God was working for the good of Joseph and the world at large! Mercy!
His exile from home made him depend entirely upon God. That would keep him from becoming prideful when he was exalted to the second in command in Egypt. Being sold as a slave humbled him sufficiently so that in the hour of temptation he forgot about himself and thought only about not “[sinning] against God.” Being put in charge of the other prisoners while encarcerated taught him to be a good leader, and steward, which were assets when all Egypt, and many areas of the world depended on him for food. But it would also be a key to open the prison doors, when he interpreted the dream of the cupbearer, who spoke to Pharaoh on his behalf. The two extra years in jail would teach him the invaluable lesson of “waiting on the Lord.” A lesson every leader needs to learn!
Have you been waiting for a companion in life? Maybe you need to learn to appreciate yourself first, before getting into a relationship. Do you desperately need an increase in salary? Perhaps you need to be a better steward of the means you now possess. Remember, if you love the Lord, and you are patiently waiting on Him to bring about a change in your life, He is already at work in all things for your good.
In all things God was working for the good of Joseph, and He will do the same for You and for me. Let us believe His Word. It cannot, it will not, fail! Praise God!