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 The Whole World Plays Hurt
How Can God Be Good if He Allows All This Evil?
What is God Doing While We Suffer?
Pain: God’s Bullhorn
Refined Like Silver
Exemplary Suffering
God Has a Better Idea
God Has Scars Too
Comfort for Julie
God Wants to Comfort You
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Why Do Bad Things Happen?
God Has a Better Idea
If there was ever a guy who had a right to think God had deserted him, it was Joseph. His ten older brothers couldn’t stand the sight of him, because their dad preferred him above the rest. One day, when they were all far away from the old man, the ten older ones decided to kill Joseph. While they were discussing the details of how to do him in, they got a better idea. A caravan of traders happened by, so the ten brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Surely, they figured, he wouldn’t live long as a slave, and the guilt for his death would be on someone else’s head.
Dragged off to a foreign land, Joseph was bought by a royal official. The official took notice of Joseph’s honesty and administrative abilities and placed him in charge of his mansion. Just when Joseph’s situation appeared to be improving, things went from bad to worse. His boss’s wife wanted to have an affair with Joseph. Being a man of principle, Joseph wouldn’t go near her. Miffed by his refusal, she told her husband that Joseph had tried to rape her, and Joseph was pitched into prison.
At that point, no one would have blamed Joseph if he had deserted his faith and screamed, “There is no God! Or if there is, He’s the devil himself!” But that’s not what happened. Joseph did not give up on God. More importantly, God did not give up on Joseph. You see, God had a plan to create good out of the bad stuff that happened to Joseph.
A few years later the king of the land had a dream that disturbed him a great deal. No one in the land could interpret the dream. No one that is, except Joseph. The dream had two parts. First, seven fat cows were eaten up by seven skinny cows. Then seven full ears of corn were devoured by seven scrawny ears. God revealed to Joseph the meaning of the dream: after seven years of bumper crops, the land would experience seven years of famine. The king was so impressed by Joseph’s explanation that he made him his top official. Joseph was placed in charge of storing the surplus of the seven prosperous years, so people could survive the seven years of famine.
Well, when the famine arrived, guess who showed up in search of grain? You guessed it—Joseph’s ten famished brothers. Now, if this were a Hollywood movie, Joseph would have reaped revenge, subjecting his brothers to ten ghastly, gory, gruesome deaths. The true story, however, is much more dramatic. With tears in his eyes, Joseph forgave them and said, “Do not be afraid, for I bear no grudge against you. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:19-20).
The Bible promises, “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” This does not mean that those who trust God will never suffer. It means that they will never suffer without a purpose. Evil people may cause all sorts of suffering and conflict, but God promises to make their purposes backfire and result in blessing.
As Joseph sat in his jail cell, he did not know exactly what good would result from his plight, but he trusted that God would keep his word. In your case, if you answer God’s call to trust in Christ as your Savior from sin, you can rest assured that God is caring for you and you will never experience trials without a purpose.
In the midst of what seem to be insurmountable difficulties, do not turn away from God. Rather draw closer to Him and trust in His promise from the Bible: “God is faithful; He will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
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