[265 words]
We’ve heard it said or maybe even said it ourselves, “Nothing good ever happens to me.” We get some bad news, things don’t go as planned, etc., and we immediately respond negatively. I recognize that some folks experience more misfortune than others, and maybe you’re one who has dealt with an overwhelming amount of heartache.
Hardship seemed to follow the apostle Paul everywhere he journeyed (cf. 2 Cor. 11:24ff). Job could easily win the award for “misfortunate man of the year.” Even David, in those years before becoming king over all of Israel, faced an onslaught of heartache and pain (1 Sam. 18:1ff).
What about Joseph? You think you’ve had it bad. A quick journey with Joseph (cf. Gen. 37-50) will make you realize just how truly blessed you are. Speaking of this man Joseph, it would do us well to remember his words to his brothers who had, by their evil deeds, brought about his many sorrows: “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen. 50:20). You read it correctly, “but God meant it unto good.” Instead of complaining and being critical of all the misfortune he had endured, Joseph, as he looks back on his life, recognized the providential workings of God and the ultimate good that resulted. We, like Joseph, need to focus more on the big picture and not the big problem!
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
Terry R. Townsend
Curry church of Christ
Jasper, AL