LIFE WITH GOD
Genesis 45, 46 and 50
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
As we all live in this fallen world, none of us can escape the consequences of the evil that surrounds us. As someone said once, even if you are a careful driver you can still be hit by a careless one.
The experiences of Joseph tell us that God does not shield us from the issues and problems and suffering and pain that is endemic of this world. He does walk with us to draw out good from bad.
Of course miracles do happen as Jesus demonstrated—healing, food for the crowd, even a miraculous change of weather. God can and did accomplish these and more but I think that in the main the life we live would be the same life that the man on the street would live except that, like Joseph, we can hope for good outcomes. Perhaps, again, like Joseph, when we keep faith in God even as we do our best, we will grow and mature in spiritual matters as well as in matters of this life, to be useful both to God and to man.
Is this good enough for you? Or do you expect God to be your servant, making sure your life is comfortable and your wishes granted? God indeed came to the aid of the Jews and brought them out of Egypt but they were slaves by then and they were made to wander for 40 years in the wilderness because of their unbelief; but they made it in the end and Joseph’s bones were re-buried in the Promised Land.
“God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”