Genesis 50:15-26
Corrie Ten Boom, beloved author of The Hiding Place and holocaust survivor, experienced things most of us will, thankfully, never have to endure. She had moments of doubt, despair, and plain anger at God for allowing her to be thrown into a WWII concentration camp, for her sister to die there, for her to see horrible atrocities committed against her Jewish friends and neighbors. And yet, somehow, she could see past the awfulness and make this statement:
"No pit is so deep that God is not deeper still."
Joseph, in our scripture lesson for today, also suffered - first because of his brothers' jealousy, then because of an angry, scorned woman - his boss's wife, no less. And yet, in v. 20, he says "You meant it for evil, but God used it for good."
Take heart when you read verses like this: "But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance." (Genesis 45:7 - Joseph says this to his brothers who sold him into slavery!)
"'I am God, the God of your father'", he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there." (Genesis 46:3 - this is God telling Jacob, Joseph's father, that all will be well for his family when they go to Egypt to get food during the 7-year famine.).
Have you ever had a wrong done to you? Maybe it wasn't being sold into slavery, like Joseph. Maybe it wasn't Auschwitz, like Corrie Ten Boom. But maybe you have been passed over for a promotion. Maybe your best friend lied to you. Maybe a spouse has deeply disappointed you. Maybe you see evil in the world and find yourself filled with despair.
Take heart, dear Christian! God has a plan, and he will use evil for good. Hold onto what is right, what is good, what is truth. Ultimately, good will triumph and evil will be destroyed Thanks be to God!
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