Pain

What do you do when the one person who is suppose to look after you, protect and love you, becomes the one who beats you?
What do you do when your 4 or 5 years old and the one person who is suppose to look after you, protect you and love you, abuses you sexually?
What do you do when the one person who is suppose to look after you, protect and love you, gives you away to another person?
These are not questions we want to talk about, yet the reality is, it has happened and continues to happen.

What do you say when someone comes to you asking,"Why? Why did God allow this to happen?"
I don't know that I have any answers, other than sometimes when people make bad choices, others get hurt by them. Not really a comfort is it? In Genesis chapter 50 we read of a man named Joseph who had every right to be bitter. His brothers had taken him and beat him, originally intending to kill Joseph because of their jealousy toward him. Instead they threw Joseph into a well until they could reach a decision on what to do. A caravan was passing and the brothers decided to sell Joseph into slavery. Joseph was transported to Egypt where he remained a slave for many years. Every time Joseph seemed to make headway and was doing good, something would happen and he would find himself in even greater peril. He was falsely accused of rape by an Egyptian officials wife and put into prison. Eventually Joseph won his freedom from prison and quickly rose to prominence in the Egyptian society because of the gifting that God had given him. As life would have it, Joseph found himself in charge when his brothers showed up to buy food because of a famine in the land.

The brothers did not recognize Joseph, thinking him long since dead. Joseph eventually stood before his brothers and revealed his true identity, causing the brothers to fear for their very lives. Joseph had them where he wanted, cowering and pleading for their lives. But Joseph was a man of God, and Joseph makes an incredible statement to his brothers. In Genesis 50:20 we read, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good." Did you catch that? The very things that would cause most of us turn away from God, was the very thing God used to save not only Joseph's brothers and family, but an entire nation from starving to death. What was intended to be evil and destructive, God took and turned it around bringing good and healing from. Isn't that just like God?

Today, we can focus on all the harm and wrong that has been done to us, even by those we love, or we can cry out to God and say, "Lord...I look to the time that you will reveal the good that will come from my situation." It is about trusting God for the greater good. Good that sometimes we can't see because of the pain.

God on you........

mb