Devotion in Motion
Genesis 45:5-8
“But now, do not therefore be grieved nor angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God…”
What a statement! For Joseph,
The pit, Potiphar’s house, the prison, now the palace… was all God.
God was at work… And Joseph continues, “and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Several years ago, a Jewish rabbi, Harold Kushner, wrote a book, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” It was on the NY Times bestseller list for a little while.
Here’s a little about the book- though God loves He’s not all powerful. He’s good, but not sovereign. So, when bad things happen. its because some events are just outside of God’s control.
Kushner suggests we “learn to love God and forgive him despite his limitations.” Hey, Rabbi Kushner’s god is not the true God.
He bears no resemblance whatsoever to the God of the Bible. He’s not Joseph’s God.
Joseph’s God is sovereign over all circumstances. He arranges and orders our lives through His overarching will, and according to His predetermined plans.
Joseph served a big God – a God with no limitations – a God who does what He pleases without getting our approval, or making sure His methods make sense to us… Joseph’s God is big enough to take the sick stuff that sin has released into the world, and the evil that man puts in– and use it to accomplish His purposes.
Joseph’s God specializes in turning bad into good.
Look, Joseph’s life teaches us that God is always in control – whether it appears that way or not.
In the rough times and in the dark places, Joseph remained confident that God loved him and had a purpose for him.
I think it would please God if we believed this same truth! The situations you face are not the result of coincidence.
There is a big God, a sovereign God, and a loving God who is always in control.
Let’s trust Him!
Victor Tafoya