Good out of evil!

Genesis 50:17-21 NKJV

'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you."' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. [18] Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." [19] Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? [20] But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. [21] Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Some inexplicably bad things do happen in life - circumstances that hurt, bring much loss and hardship.

It can even happen that members of your own family turn against you and mean you harm - the way it happened to Joseph.

What a lesson can be learned from this honourable man. His pure heart ran rich with faith, love and forgiveness - all forged in the furnace of injustice and the cauldron of others' callousness.

Joseph's brothers were scared when their dad passed away. They measured Joseph's reaction by their own treacherous hearts.

They assumed Joseph would take the opportunity to wreak revenge on them for what they had done in the past.

See how Joseph wept at their assumption. How little did they know Joseph's motives, his kind heart, even though they were his brothers.

Joseph could see God's guiding hand in all that had happened. He could see how God had allowed the bad actions of his envious brothers, the lustful accusations of Potiphar's wife, to bring him exactly to the place where he could do the maximum good - saving many lives from starvation.

He didn't gloss over what his brothers had done: "you meant it for evil", but he saw the bigger picture.

Then he spoke kindly to them and provided for them and their families.

Jesus said love your enemies, so we see this pratcally working, even in the Old Testament, through the life of Joseph.

So, when on the receiving end of some great wrong or betrayal, trust God and go on trusting, because somewhere up ahead it's going to make sense and you will be in the right place to help someone going through something similar.

Yes, they may have meant it for evil, but God will turn it around for good! He's like that.

Jesus turned the greatest evil and betrayal into salvation for the world.

There on the Cross He cried out "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do".

Often those who wrong us don't realise the damage they are causing - but God is using them to bring about a greater purpose.

Just wait, you'll see!