 |
Seeing Things As God Does
Genesis 45:5 '[Joseph said to his brothers] "And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you."' (NIV)
 It takes a special kind of spiritual grace and personal character to see in our worst trials the blessing of God for other people. Joseph had been through a lot. He'd been sold into slavery by his own brothers, who hated him with a passion. He'd been thrown in prison for a crime he didn't commit, by a man whom he had served with selfless distinction. His entire adult life had been spent in a foreign land, with seemingly no hope of return. His beloved father believed him to be dead. Yet, at the end of the day, he could look back and see the hand of God in it all, working not just for his own good but for that of the very people who'd so painfully rejected him -- his brothers. It's one thing to thank God for trials and tribulations that have eventually brought his favour upon your own life, but to thank him for treating you so badly in order to save the very people who'd ripped you off, well, that's a whole different level of character. Whatever problems you may be facing at this time, you can be sure of one thing: there will be benefit in them for you at the end of the day. God will 'work all things together for good' in your life. But those trials will also produce in you the capacity to help and minister to others -- including the very people who may have contributed to your pain. It doesn't seem fair, I know, not when you look at it from our perspective. But if you do as Joseph did and learn God's perspective, you will see that this is the greatest demonstration of his grace: he loves his enemies, he treats well those who've worked against him. Perhaps that was the greatest victory of Joseph's tale -- and the reason his life speaks so loudly to us thousands of years later. He learned to see things as God did, and as a result could cooperate fully in the work God had planned. You and I can experience the same incredible victory.
Prayer: Lord, help me to react to my trials as Joseph did, so that I'm not just able to see how you've worked them for my good. Help me to see how they were also sent to put in a place to rescue others, even those who've treated me worst. Thank you for teaching me to act like you do!'
© 2003-2004 Mal Fletcher
|
|
 |
 |
Want to keep in touch with what Next Wave is doing each month? Enter your email address below.
|
|
