GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD

Introduction

I would like to talk to you this morning from the subject “God Meant It For Good!”

God Meant It For Good!

We all have, had and will have good times and bad times in our life.

In the good times we can walk in Peace and even in the bad times we can still walk in Peace because God will turn that which we think is bad into that which is good.

Joseph’s life has been a series of trials and tragedies. It has been a road marked by many valleys and few mountains.

We have seen the difficult life he had as a child.

We have witnessed the hatred and cruelty of his brothers.

We have seen him working as a slave.

We have seen him falsely accused and imprisoned.

We have seen him abandoned and forgotten in that prison.

We have also seen him taken out of that prison and elevated to a position of prestige, power and prominence in Egypt.

We watched as Joseph was reunited with his brothers.

We saw God use him to bring his brothers to a place of repentance.

We saw him reunited with his father.

We have seen all the highs and the lows of Joseph’s life.

And through every valley and across every mountain, one truth held true: God Meant it For Good.

Even as Joseph nears the end of his life in these verses, he continues to display a remarkable faith in his God.

It is that faith and confidence that I want to examine for a while today.

One thing in Joseph’s life that has been confirmed and reaffirmed in my heart and mind, and that is the truth that God is behind every event that occurs in our lives.

There are no accidents. There is no such thing as coincidence.

There is only providence and the outworking of the perfect will of God. This is the clear teaching of Scripture,

Ephesians 1:11 KJV 1900

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Psalm 135:6 KJV 1900

6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased, That did he in heaven, and in earth, In the seas, and all deep places.

As Joseph approaches the end of his earthly life, I want to you see some steps Joseph took that demonstrate his absolute confidence in the providence of God.

Let see how Joseph Releases His Past; Remembers God’s Providence and Rests On God’s Promises knowing that God Meant It For Good.

I. v. 15-19 RELEASES HIS PAST

After the death of Jacob, the brothers of Joseph was worried.

They remember all the terrible things they did to Joseph years ago.

They remember how they hated him.

They remember how they sold him as a slave.

They remembered how they covered up his disappearance with the lie that he was dead.

They remember these things and many others and they are afraid.

They are sure that now that their father is dead, Joseph will seek revenge against them.

So, they come up with a plan. They sent someone to Joseph with a message. They want him to believe that Jacob left word for him to forgive his brothers before he died. When Joseph hears their words, he weeps.

It was never in Joseph’s heart to hold their past over their heads.

He had forgiven them for their transgression a long time ago.

As Joseph nears the end of his life, he can look back with a clear conscience.

We have no record that he harmed no one, and we have no record that he holds a grudge against any one.

In fact, vs. 19 he reminds his brothers that he is not in the place of God. In other words, they need not fear Joseph with what they have done wrong; they will eventually face a higher court and an infallible judge! That is a good way to die!

As we pass through life, there will be times when we are hurt by the words and actions of others. It is inevitable, we will be hurt and sometimes, we will be hurt deeply. We cannot help what others do to us, but we can help what we do with the hurts of others.

When the hurtful words and harsh deeds of others break our hearts, we really only have two courses of action.

We can be angry, hold a grudge and seek revenge.

Or, we can forgive them and leave the matter in the hands of God. Here is the scriptural mandate given to us by the Lord.

One day, we will all leave this world. Are you prepared to leave it with a clean conscience toward others? Here is what you need to do:

If you offending party you need to go to them and ask for forgiveness. Until you do, your relationship with God will never be what it could be. (Ill. Matt. 5:23-24)

If you are the offended party, you need to take the matter before the Lord and strive to reach a place of forgiveness.

You will never be happy in the Lord; your joy will never be full; and you will never be of use to Him until you have forgiven those who have wronged you.

Joseph was able to leave with world with a clean conscience toward others. Will you?

II. v. 20-21 REMEMBERS GOD’S PROVIDENCE

Joseph does not pretend that what his brothers did to him was not evil. It most certainly was.

He knew the intent of their heart. After all, he was there when they betrayed him and sold him as a slave. But, Joseph saw deeper than their intentions.

In spite of what they were doing, God was doing something far more wonderful.

Yes, they sinned against Joseph, but God even used their sin to accomplish His eternal plan.

In one verse Joseph looks back on thirty years of trial and triumph and acknowledges God’s hand in every detail of his life.

Joseph knows that the hatred and betrayal, the slavery and the imprisonment, and the loneliness and separation, were all part of a much bigger plan.

God used the valleys and the victories of Joseph’s life to reach Joseph’s brothers;

to encourage Jacob;

to bring the children of Israel to Egypt; and to literally save the world.

Surely, God did mean it for good!

It goes without saying that God will probably not use the events of our lives to accomplish such amazing things in our own lives.

As we pass through this life, we can count on the fact that every valley and every victory is a part of His perfect plan for us and that He will use them all for our good and for His glory!

That is His promise,

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

James 1:3 KJV 1900

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

1 Peter 1:7–8 KJV 1900

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

We would have to admit that we like the victory more than we like the valley.

We like the good days more than we like the bad days.

Here is the question that confronts us: are we willing to joyfully endure everything life throws at us knowing that God is behind it all and that He will get glory from it?

Are we willing to accept His will, even when it goes against our will, knowing that He will develop us through it?

When we pass through the hard places of life, it is easy to forget that God is in control.

The next time life pulls the rug out from under you, remember that God is always with to catch you.

Remember, no matter what takes place in life, God Meant It For Good!

III. v. 22-26 RESTS ON GOD’S PROMISE

After a long, productive and happy life, the time came for Joseph to leave this world.

When that time came, he made the children of Israel promise to take his bones with them when they come out of Egypt.

Joseph is claiming a promise God made to his father many years before,

Genesis 46:2–4 KJV 1900

2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

Joseph dies believing that God will visit His people one day and take them to a better land.

That is the same assurance the saints have today.

We are looking for a visitation from the Lord.

We have an even greater promise than the one given to Israel. Our Lord is preparing a place for us and one day, He will return to get us.

John 14:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.