"God's Plan for Good" January 24 Readings: Genesis 49–50, Matthew 15:10–39, Psalm 15, Proverbs 3:19-20

Today's Readings - Genesis 49–50, Matthew 15:10–39, Psalm 15, Proverbs 3:19-20

Devotional - God's Plans for Good

It was a time of grief as they buried their father, but for Joseph's brothers, it was also a time of stress and fear. They carried with them the memory of a terrible wrong they had committed against their brother, imprisoning him and selling him into slavery in Egypt. And now their brother was the second most powerful man in the world. 

And dad was not around to protect them anymore!

They were afraid that now that Jacob was gone Joseph might use his power to exact vengeance against them for what they had done to him. Who could blame him, after all? To save themselves, they concocted a lie that Jacob had asked Joseph to show mercy to his brothers. Such a scheme was unnecessary, for Joseph had learned one of life's most important lessons. He told his brothers not to fear him and assured them that he had no intent to rob God's right of revenge. Then, he made an amazing statement of faith in God (in Genesis 50:20). 

You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result.

He believed in the goodness of the God who rules the world, and even though he knew that his brothers had willfully sought to harm him, the power of God changed man's evil into good. He was not holding a grudge or dwelling on the evil that had been done to him. He was dwelling on the goodness of God and the good that he had done in spite of it all. 

There is much in Joseph's response that is worthy of imitation. He dwelt on God's goodness instead of the real (or imagined) hurts from people. He trusted God's sovereign power to bring good out of evil. He refused to usurp God's right to respond to evil. 

But there is one more thing he did that I would like to point out. It is something that many of us do not do - to our own great spiritual harm. 

Joseph put the past in the past!

Too many Christians are living in the past. Some are stuck on mistakes they made in the past and cannot seem to receive the forgiveness God gives. Some are fixated on injuries and hurts, holding onto the bitterness and anger that saps spiritual joy and leaves people in bondage. Some may think that their spiritual successes in the past were enough to carry them through today. 

The past shapes us; gives us memories of both joy and pain. But the past must never control us. Jesus Christ died to free us from the sins of the past - both those we committed and those that were committed against us. Once we come to Christ, we are given the Spirit to renew us day by day, to give us joy, peace, power, victory, and grace every day. We must live in God's grace today and not be enslaved by the past. 

Lord, I thank you for every blessing and every challenge of the past, but I thank you that I do not have to be a slave to it. You have broken the chains of sin, you have freed me! May I walk in your grace daily.  

Think and Pray

Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?
Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?

Are there issues in your past that you have not dealt with completely?
Perhaps a sin that you have not completely brought to Calvary?
Maybe an injury that you have not allowed Christ to heal?