joseph is an example of how you handle it when people hurt you intentionally. joseph was his father's favorite son. all of his brothers got very jealous. they decided to sell their brother into slavery. they told their father he had been killed by a beast. they sell him into slavery and he's taken to egypt. he's sold as a slave in a man's house. the man's wife tries to seduce him. he won't give in so he's accused of rape. he's put in prison and he spends years in prison, dwindling away. i'm sure he was saying, “where is GOD in all of this? what did i do to deserve this?”
if i were joseph i'd be saying, “why me, GOD?” but he was exactly where GOD wanted him to be. GOD was in control and GOD was working through circumstances and situations. HE didn't cause it but HE allowed the brothers to sell him in to slavery. later on, joseph rose to a position of prominence in egypt and there was a great famine. because of his wisdom both egypt and israel were saved. later he came face to face with the very brothers that tried to hurt him.
genesis 50.20 (niv), one of the greatest verses in the bible. joseph says to his brothers, you intended to harm me, but GOD intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
some of you are being hurt right now by bosses, brothers, sisters, employees, by other people. they mean it for bad but GOD means it for good. there are people who are out to destroy you or maybe they don't like you and are trying to get your job. they mean it for bad but GOD is in control and HE means it for good and HE's got a purpose behind every problem.
what is the key to my response then? look past the pain and try to find GOD's purpose behind the pain. some things in life we're never going to know. why do people die at a certain time? i don't know! we all die eventually. why now? i don't know! but GOD has a plan and GOD is a good GOD. HE's in control. look past the pain.
2 corinthians 4.16-17 (ph). this is the reason why we never lose heart... these little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious, and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain.
GOD says the temporary problems you are going through right now are minor compared to the reward you're going to be given on the other side for how you handled them.
in the very next verse paul says, “we don't look at the temporary problems we're going through. we keep our eyes on the eternal things, the things that really count. the things that matter.” look past the pain.
just a thought from the front porch…
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