God Meant It for Good

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good"
(Genesis 50:20 NASB).

I currently volunteer with an English for Speakers of Other Languages program. I am thankful that I am physically able to do this despite my health problems. Communication, however, has been quite challenging. I questioned why the Tower of Babel had to result in language barriers. Couldn’t God have used another way to deal with man’s pride and arrogance? Then I realized that because of this language barrier, I have the opportunity to show God’s love and minister to other people, just as missionaries all over the world are doing. Joseph spoke the words in the above verse to his brothers after his years of enslavement and subsequent rise to power in Egypt. His wisdom brought Egypt through a devastating famine. In both of these examples, we see God bringing good out of what appeared to be bad situations.

I applied this concept to my health struggles. Satan has meant them for evil, knowing that they negatively affect my faith, hope, and trust in God. Yet God can use these trials for my good if I will allow Him to do so. This quote expresses that fact: “There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today” (Bishop Glyn Moule). I can also say He is doing it in my life. I am not the same person physically that I was twenty-five years ago, but I am not the same person spiritually either. I have a dependency on God and a depth to my faith that I might not have experienced were it not for my physical problems.

When I become discouraged, believing that my sufferings are victories for the enemy, I need to remember that nothing is ever a lost cause with God. Perhaps He is even using these struggles to help others, just as He did with Joseph.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to embrace the truth that everything You allow in my life is for my good and for Your glory. Amen.