God Takes the Worst and Makes it Good
For 34 years, I have taught kids from 5th grade–high school. There are things I have seen that have been magical.
I have seen a homecoming queen ask a special-needs teen to go to the prom with her.
I saw a little sister who was upset at school be surrounded by her older brothers, comforting her.
I have watched kids better themselves; working hard to do their best in school.
I have also seen heartbreak.
When I taught high school, I had a student who lived in a home that had a dirt floor and no indoor plumbing.
I witnessed torment on the face of a young man whose mother was murdered.
I have seen kids emulate their parents, using filthy language and having bad tempers.
There is a lot of pain in this world.
All of us have struggled with the pain life can bring and, in those moments, it’s hard to know how to respond.
Some Christians think that if they have enough faith, they should not feel these burdens, which may include sorrow, anger, resentment, or confusion.
The question we should ask is, what is faith? Is it a feeling?
I think we can look at an Old Testament character and see a great example of faith during painful times; his name is Joseph.
In Genesis 37–50, we read the history of Joseph’s life. To summarize it, Jacob, Joseph’s father, favored him but he was hated by his brothers. They threw him in a well and sold him as a slave.
Joseph worked hard and became trusted in Potiphar’s household until Potiphar’s wife unjustly accused him of rape.
Potiphar threw Joseph in jail where he was eventually brought before Pharaoh and given the position of the second most powerful man in Egypt.
He collected grain during the seven years of plentiful harvest so the known world would not starve during the seven years of famine that would follow.
Yes, Joseph’s life had a good ending, but there was much of his life that must have been miserable.
The Bible doesn’t reveal a lot of information about how Joseph felt in these terrible situations but I think it’s safe to say; he felt a whole range of emotions including sorrow, anger, confusion and, perhaps, resentment.
Regardless of how he felt, the Bible records the three things Joseph knew about God that gave him the freedom to forgive and transformed his pain for good.
Genesis 50:20 (NIV) says, “You intended to harm me but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
#1. “You intended to harm me” — Joseph’s brothers eventually come to Egypt to buy food and Joseph reveals he’s their brother. Joseph confronts them and does not sugar-coat what they did; he says it straight-out. You meant it; it was wrong. Freedom to forgive and let faith rule is recognizing the wrong that has been done to you.
#2. “God intended it.” Joseph believed, by faith, that God allowed difficult things to come into his life and he accepted it. Why? Because of the third thing Joseph knew about God.
#3. “God intended it for good.” Joseph had faith in God, regardless of his feelings. He took God at his word and trusted that God would use the pain he experienced for good yet to come; the saving of his family’s lives.
God knows the painful things that happen in our lives and if we can get into the habit of looking at them the way Joseph did, God will make the pain good.
