Joseph said to them,”Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid, I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them, and spoke kindly to them.” Gen 50:19-21 (NIV)
You are ready to go out for the evening, and the phone rings. Your plans are left in tatters with news of something which changes everything. You go to the doctor for a routine check up, and leave the surgery knowing that life will never be the same again. A yearly visit to the school to get your child's report, results in you having to reassess their capabilities. We don't take too kindly to our plans being changed. Plans which we felt were for the best, and maybe even had prayed for. But who really knows best?
If you have never read the book, “God Meant it for Good” by R T Kendall, I would recommend you get a copy and read it cover to cover. It follows the story of Joseph, and the verse quoted comes from a key part of the narrative. Maybe you have never done this, but I have questioned God's leading, direction, and wisdom when He has stepped in and intervened in my life. Complaining does no good, and changes nothing. But I don't see the end from the beginning, and I don't see the bigger picture from God's viewpoint, so how can I possibly judge? Joseph was well within his rights to question God's judgement, but he didn't. He said, “but God meant it for good”!
It takes us a long time, sometimes a lifetime, to get to the point that Joseph reached, and he didn't even have the benefit of Jesus' life recorded for him as an example to follow. We do, and still we struggle! I am constantly reminded that I must “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk” if I am to be the kind of Jesus follower who can be called a Christian, by those who watch from the sidelines. Whatever happens in and around my life, there should always be a moment when I realise anew, “but God meant it for good”!
