"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." (ESV)
What trials or afflictions has God brought our ways lately? Have we ever considered that perhaps, without them, we would lose our souls? None of this is meant to diminish the fact that actual evil is perpetrat-
ed on the godly church, by wicked men. But it puts it all into perspec-
tive, in light of a the love and government of a Sovereign God.
Does this mean that we are to necessarily "enjoy" our tribulations, any more than Joseph did all his time in prison, etc.? No. But it does mean that we are able to see, by faith, that without these troubles we would end up in hell; and we would never become like Jesus.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Now Christians know that they are in their warfare, they are here in this world fighting and combating with the enemies of their souls and their eternal welfare, and they must be willing to endure hardness here." --Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment"]
