Genesis 50:15-21
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Just this past Tuesday I had the privilege of eating lunch with a good SA friend. We met at about 12:00pm and decided on the Mayflower Chinese Restaurant down the street from DHQ (amazing Chinese food, always two meals). My friend, along with many other Salvationists from the Mayfair/Albany Park neighborhoods, was a part of some flood relief work over the weekend. For those that are unaware, those neighborhoods were among the worst affect from this past weekend’s storm, along with Des Plaines.
After we waited unusually long for our food (arguably the only con of the Mayfair Chinese restaurant), we sat down, got siutated and began to, non-verbally, decide who was going to pray. I verbally volunteered my friend to pray. The cool thing is that when you pray for intimacy’s sake, you don’t pray rote, boring and recycled prayers. They’re fresh (usually) and are almost always different in someway. Such was the case here. A highlight for me was a prayer in which my friend thanked God for the results of the flood – more specifically the results of the relief efforts. See, what most people don’t realize is that once word hit a few people from the affected Mayfair/Albany Park area, it spread and soon relief teams were formed out of people from the community – not just organizations. And that’s why my friend was thanking God.
Where some people would have only seen horrible tragedy and devistation, my friend was able to see mutual giving and community. Where some may only see evil, he saw good. God saw evil, and used the opportunity for goodness, for His Kingdom.
If in your life you can only see ruin, and things seem to be falling apart, ask God to see things from His vantage point. See if this thing your dealing with might actually be a good thing. Above all, seek God and His Kingdom, and “He will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33, New Living Translation).