It’s humbling to deal with the reality that often we do not see God‘s plan until it is fulfilled. We only see our situation in part and we pray for things we feel will most benefit us. It’s difficult to see how good can come from bad situations, but I’m certain we’ve all experienced spiritual growth which came as a result of those troublesome times. I’m certain Joseph could not see God‘s plan in the bottom of that well, but during the trial he believed God was faithful and afterward he was proven correct. Notice the perspective Joseph gained from his life’s experiences.
1. Forgiveness is better than revenge.
Gen. 45:4-8 “And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither:”
2. God used him to save the world.
“for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.”
3. God used him to deliver his family.
“And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
4. God increased his influence because of his submission to God’s will.
“So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
5. God had a bigger plan of which he was privileged to play a role.
Gen. 50:20 “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.” LESSON - Like it or not, God is using our problems to shape us to become better people, more like Him. If we choose to gripe and complain about our problems and situations, we may be missing out on the blessing that God is preparing to send our way. God did not have to use Joseph in spite of a bad attitude, he was able to bless him exceedingly because of a good one. Let’s take time to check our attitudes! Maybe God will use us as well for a GREAT task which we currently cannot see.
~Mike