"God meant it for good"

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

In this chapter of Genesis, Joseph confronts his brothers, who had sold him into slavery because of jealousy and hate. However, what the brothers had meant for evil, God used for good.

Joseph rose to a high position in the house of Pharaoh. Because God gave him the ability to interpret dreams, Joseph foresaw a great famine. He stored enough food to save hundreds of thousands in their time of need, including his family, who shunned him.

This is the sovereignty of God. Prophets were made because God spoke to them. God is eternal and omniscient. He has and will live forever, and He knew the end before the beginning of time. It is like this in all things. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said, “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” There is nothing that can thwart the will of God, ever.

Another reality of God’s sovereignty is that He is surprised by nothing that occurs in His creation. He knows what is in the hearts of all people down to their core. (John 2:25) So, God uses human action and inaction, both good and bad, for His glory. After all, all things should glorify God, should they not? God’s omnipotence is reflective of His nature, which is all-holy and righteous.

John Calvin wrote, “Truly God claims omnipotence to himself, and would have us to acknowledge it, - not the vain, indolent, slumbering omnipotence which sophists [quibblers] feign, but vigilant, efficacious, energetic, and ever active - not an omnipotence which may only act as a general principle of confused motion, as in ordering a stream to keep within the channel once prescribed to it, but one which is intent on individual and special movements. God is deemed omnipotent, not because he can act though he may cease or be idle, or because by a general instinct he continues the order of nature previously appointed; but because, governing heaven and earth by his providence, he so overrules all things that nothing happens without his counsel.” God has a choice, and instead of creating all things and then walking away to leave them to their own devices, He meticulously oversees creation for His glory and to ensure that it remains until He deems otherwise. God is alive and in control of all things.

If you have read In Messiah before, you may have seen Proverbs 2:1 appear as a reference. I often use it when writing about the providence of God because, in His wisdom, Solomon captured it so well in the image of a river: “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” God turns with intent, not chaos. By design, not randomness.

There are still kings in this world, and presidents, prime ministers, and the like, and this verse is still true. God controls the leaders of this world, turning them in the direction of His choice, by His hand, and in His own time.

Christ came in the incarnation to call the sinners to salvation. It was another choice of the Godhead. It was a choice made out of love, compassion, and mercy.

Salvation is gifted to those who place their faith in the risen Son of God, who died on the cross bearing the sins of the world. Who rose again and is seated at the Father's right hand, where He will rule forever. There are troubles in this world, worries, fears, and tragedy, but Jesus Christ has overcome this world, (John 16:33) and for those who believe in Him, He has imputed His righteousness to them, and they are no longer a part of this world; these worldly troubles become trivial.

Is that you? Do you know Christ as your Savior? Discard this world and its trouble; adoption into the family of God awaits those who will believe. Seek Jesus now, before the offer is withdrawn, because no one knows but God whether our next breath will come or Christ will come on the clouds.

Grace and Peace.