God Turns Evil unto Good for His Children.
"But as for you, 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..
Genesis 50:2O.
Sin and wickedness are subject to God’s government. God
suffers the iniquity of men to reach only a certain limit; and He
overrules it to the accomplishment of His designs. Joseph was
sold by His brothers to slave-dealers, who carried him to Egypt,
and there, in the course of time, he became a mighty lord and the
means of saving many alive. God’s divine guidance and direction
turn evil unto good. What God did to Joseph He does also to you
if you are a child of God. It is written in the Bible in order that
you should be convinced of this consoling fact. “ For whatever
things were written aforetime were written for our learning that
we through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope.”
Also in your life God turns evil unto good. Believe this firmly.
“All things work together for good to them that love God.” This
does not mean that God will make you a great lord on earth, as was
the case with Joseph. But it does mean that God will make you to
be something much greater than that. Here beneath you shall be
His loving child, and at the end of your earthly pilgrimage He will
receive you into His Kingdom of Glory, where fulness of joy and
pleasures forevermore will fill your heart with bliss eternal. To that
end all evil that befalls you must end as it did in the case of
Joseph. God turns our sufferings into blessings.
What a comfort for every Christian! God’s ways always lead
to triumph, though we often cannot understand them. The Lord
safely and securely directs the ship of His holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints, through the stormy ocean of this world
into the haven of eternal rest. He says, Is. 54, 7: “ For a small
moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather
thee.” Let each, then, say to Him: “ Thou shalt guide me with
Thy counsel.”
Prayer.
O God, almighty and powerful in heaven and on earth, pre-
serve our body and life, house and home, city and country, our
property and all our belongings, also the fruits of the field, from
hail, lightning, devastating floods, and all harm. Keep us also
from a sudden evil death and graciously grant that the hearts of
many sinners may be turned to Thee in true repentance and faith.
Let us at all hours and moments be mindful of Thy glorious coming
to Judgment and be prepared to receive Thee with joy and to enter
eternal bliss with Thee. Amen.
