The Divine Lemonade-Maker

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:20–21

Have you ever asked one of the following questions? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to my family? Why did this happen to my mom? My brother? My daughter? Make no mistake, I have asked “Why me?” many times. And if you are honest, I’m sure you have too. You may be in a season of life right now asking God some of these questions.

You may, in general, wonder why. We live in a world full of evil and suffering. How could a “good” God allow people to experience all this pain? This was a central question I had for years and years. Even as I pushed through Genesis, reading, studying, and trying to understand it, the question kept coming up. In fact, I never received an acceptable answer to the question from anyone Jewish OR Christian. All I heard was, “You just have to believe,” and those words simply didn’t satisfy me.

Joseph’s (Abraham’s great-grandson) story begins in Genesis 37. His dad loved him more than his 11 brothers. In jealousy, his brothers came to hate him and, ultimately, sold him to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s right-hand man. Joseph did a bang-up job for Potiphar and took care of all of his needs . . . until Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him, and he was thrown in jail. The Lord was with Joseph, and the jail's warden ended up putting Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. It seemed like whatever Joseph did, the Lord made it succeed.

Then, two years later, Pharaoh had some crazy dreams and sent for Joseph to interpret them. He did and told Pharaoh they pointed to a seven-year period of plenty of food in Egypt that would be followed by seven years of severe famine. Pharoah was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of the country. Joseph stored up tons of food during the “years of plenty” in preparation for the famine. Through an incredible series of events, Joseph, his brothers, and his father are reunited (read the whole story in Genesis 37-50). Regarding their horrible treatment of him, Genesis closes out with Joseph saying to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good . . .”

The existence of pain, suffering, and evil are inevitable outcomes of sin entering the world so long ago. However, God has a way of constantly working behind the scenes to work all of it together for good for those of us who love Him (Romans 8:28). Sometimes, it happens super-fast. Sometimes, we won’t see or understand the good until eternity. And sometimes, we’re privileged enough to witness it in hindsight, years and years later. Such is the case with Joseph and his family.

This does not mean that the painful experiences are somehow not painful or that the suffering is not real. It does, however, mean that there are no wasted experiences for believers. God’s days are not spent weaving together the events of our lives to make us happy. He weaves the events of our lives together to help us recognize our need for Him. He weaves together the events of our lives into the beautiful tapestry of His will and His purpose for us. Trust Him today. Trust that He loves you. Trust that He has your back. Trust that He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is a promise-keeping God who made this promise in Romans 8 to believers.

Thank You, Lord, for being the tapestry-weaving God who doesn’t allow purposeless suffering in the lives of those who love You. I praise You in the storm. I will wear the pain as a badge of honor, knowing, trusting, and believing that You will work it all together for good. What the adversary meant for evil, You meant for good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.