“After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:14–21, NASB95)
No doubt you know the story of Joseph. If nothing else, you know him by his “coat of many colors”. Well in this story, Joseph’s brothers didn’t like him very much because his father loved him more than the rest of them. They sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt. They told their father a wild animal had torn him to pieces, and he was dead. After a series of events that led Joseph to the highest office in Egypt and his brothers and family starving, Joseph provided for his family and revealed himself to them. He then had them move to Egypt where he could continue to provide for them and protect them.
Over the course of time, Jacob, Joseph’s father died. The verses above laid out what happened. The brothers assumed that Joseph had been nice to them for their father’s sake. They did not know that Joseph had been nice to them for his Father’s sake. He had forgiven them, but they could not forgive themselves.
Joseph tried to explain to them that, while they had intended him evil, God had actually used their actions to bring about the salvation of their entire family. They thought they had ended Joseph’s dream of ruling over them, but they had actually helped it along. Joseph never would have been able to rule over them if they had not been in another land. If they had killed him, as they originally planned, he would not have been able to rule over them or save them.
Satan hates God. He hates everything God stands for because he wants to be God and can’t. Armed with this hate and a desire to resist God at every turn, Satan enters into the affairs of men to attempt to frustrate God and His people. What he doesn’t realize, even after so many times of trying, is that “God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Just consider the following:
• Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin, but God had chosen to send His Son to die for sin before the foundation of the world.
• Satan stirred the hearts of the people to reject God as their King, but God already had a plan that the Messiah would come through that kingly line.
• Satan had a plan to tempt Job into cursing God, but instead, Job became a testimony for God that is reverberating even to our day.
• Satan had a plan to disqualify David, but God used it to teach us true repentance and to show us a man after God’s own heart.
• Satan had a plan to kill Jesus, but it was God’s plan all along for that death to provide life and victory for all who would put their faith in Him.
Just as Satan’s plan are always for evil, God often uses those plans as a catapult for accomplishing His will. Two weeks into COVID-19 in our area, churches are working together, Christians are worshiping together, the number of people participating in churches online has exploded, the internet is alive with the gospel, and lives are being changed. What the enemy intended for evil, God uses for good! This will be no different!
Do you believe that? Do you trust that? How will you live that? See you online, and hopefully in person soon.