Today's encouragement comes from Genesis 50:20, which finds Joseph say-ing this, to his brothers:
"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 con-sidered that perhaps, without them, we would lose our happiness and our souls? None of this is meant to diminish the fact that actual evil is perpetrated on the godly people in the true church, by wicked human beings. But it puts it all into perspective, in light of the love and government of our Sovereign and Good God.
Does this mean that we are to necessarily "enjoy" our tribulations, any more than Joseph of old did all his time in prison, etc.? No. But it does mean that we are able to see—through our faith in Christ—that without these troubles we would end up in a very bad place; 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 hardship here.” —Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment"]
