Words of encouragement
“God Meant It for Good” March 31, 2020
In Genesis 50:15 the Bible says, “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” Joseph’s brothers were terrified of what might happen to them now that their father Jacob was dead. They assumed that Joseph would have a vengeful heart and repay their evil with evil. Consequently, they concocted a story and sent messengers to Joseph to tell him that before his father died, he requested that he pardon his brothers for the evil they did to him.
However, Joseph didn’t have a vengeful heart; on the contrary, Joseph had a heart filled with compassion. He said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20-21, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
To the family of God at East Side, take to heart the words that Joseph spoke to his brothers. He said “…you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” Let those sentiments be our sentiments even in the midst of this pandemic. God has shown throughout Scripture that He has the uncanny ability to turn bitterness into sweetness, suffering into joy, and sorrow into dancing. In Psalm 30 it appears that David had a near death experience from which God delivered him. Listen to the following verses in Psalms 30, “I will exalt You, O Lord, for You lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O Lord my God, I called to You for help and You healed me. 3 O Lord, You brought me up from the grave; You spared me from going down into the pit” (Psalm 30:1-3).
Four times in these three verses David talks about being delivered from the threshold of death. He spoke of being lifted from the depths, being healed, brought up from the grave, and spared from the pit. Those expressions depict a grim situation that had him at death’s doorstep. But God delivered him from whatever the dangerous life-threatening situation was, which prompted him to exclaim, “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). And he goes on to say in that same Psalm (speaking to the Lord) “You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11). David said that YOU Lord changed my tune from a sad tune to a glad tune. YOU Lord – changed my crying into dancing! YOU Lord – changed my clothes from the rough sackcloth of sadness into the soft silky-smooth cloth of joy! YOU Lord – took a negative situation and transformed it into a positive situation.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in some bad times, but let us never forget that God has the power to transform our bad into good. He has the power to take what seems to be against us and make it work in our favor. Consequently, I am a firm believer that God has us in this place at this time in history for a reason. God is still on the throne! God is still the grand architect of this universe! God is still in the business of making all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). And God still never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4).
Brothers and sisters the old cliché is right – “Whenever we are down to nothing, God is up to something.” I don’t know exactly what God is up to, but I know that He’s up to good! I know that He’s working on our behalf to make us better vessels for use in His kingdom. Just maybe God is trying to teach us something valuable. Maybe God is trying to teach us to trust Him more. Maybe God is trying to teach us to pray more; to study more; and to reach out to each other more. Maybe God is trying to help us to reconnect with our families. Maybe God is trying to teach us to appreciate one another more. Maybe God is trying to teach us to appreciate the simple things of life more. Maybe when this is all said and done a meal in a restaurant will taste better than it ever did; and maybe you won’t be as critical of the service as you were in the past. Maybe a walk in the park will mean more to us than it did before the pandemic. Maybe we won’t complain about crowds as much as we did before the pandemic. And just maybe we will appreciate the value, the beauty, and the blessing of being able to assembly with the saints in person on the Lord’s Day. Just Maybe we won’t be in such a hurry to leave the fellowship of the saints after the final “Amen.” And just maybe you will finally see the value of coming back on a Sunday night – for after all – now we see that it is a blessing just to be able to meet ONE day a week. Think about it!
Bro. George Williams
On Behalf of the Leadership
In Genesis 50:15 the Bible says, “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” Joseph’s brothers were terrified of what might happen to them now that their father Jacob was dead. They assumed that Joseph would have a vengeful heart and repay their evil with evil. Consequently, they concocted a story and sent messengers to Joseph to tell him that before his father died, he requested that he pardon his brothers for the evil they did to him.
However, Joseph didn’t have a vengeful heart; on the contrary, Joseph had a heart filled with compassion. He said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20-21, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
To the family of God at East Side, take to heart the words that Joseph spoke to his brothers. He said “…you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” Let those sentiments be our sentiments even in the midst of this pandemic. God has shown throughout Scripture that He has the uncanny ability to turn bitterness into sweetness, suffering into joy, and sorrow into dancing. In Psalm 30 it appears that David had a near death experience from which God delivered him. Listen to the following verses in Psalms 30, “I will exalt You, O Lord, for You lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O Lord my God, I called to You for help and You healed me. 3 O Lord, You brought me up from the grave; You spared me from going down into the pit” (Psalm 30:1-3).
Four times in these three verses David talks about being delivered from the threshold of death. He spoke of being lifted from the depths, being healed, brought up from the grave, and spared from the pit. Those expressions depict a grim situation that had him at death’s doorstep. But God delivered him from whatever the dangerous life-threatening situation was, which prompted him to exclaim, “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). And he goes on to say in that same Psalm (speaking to the Lord) “You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11). David said that YOU Lord changed my tune from a sad tune to a glad tune. YOU Lord – changed my crying into dancing! YOU Lord – changed my clothes from the rough sackcloth of sadness into the soft silky-smooth cloth of joy! YOU Lord – took a negative situation and transformed it into a positive situation.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in some bad times, but let us never forget that God has the power to transform our bad into good. He has the power to take what seems to be against us and make it work in our favor. Consequently, I am a firm believer that God has us in this place at this time in history for a reason. God is still on the throne! God is still the grand architect of this universe! God is still in the business of making all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). And God still never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4).
Brothers and sisters the old cliché is right – “Whenever we are down to nothing, God is up to something.” I don’t know exactly what God is up to, but I know that He’s up to good! I know that He’s working on our behalf to make us better vessels for use in His kingdom. Just maybe God is trying to teach us something valuable. Maybe God is trying to teach us to trust Him more. Maybe God is trying to teach us to pray more; to study more; and to reach out to each other more. Maybe God is trying to help us to reconnect with our families. Maybe God is trying to teach us to appreciate one another more. Maybe God is trying to teach us to appreciate the simple things of life more. Maybe when this is all said and done a meal in a restaurant will taste better than it ever did; and maybe you won’t be as critical of the service as you were in the past. Maybe a walk in the park will mean more to us than it did before the pandemic. Maybe we won’t complain about crowds as much as we did before the pandemic. And just maybe we will appreciate the value, the beauty, and the blessing of being able to assembly with the saints in person on the Lord’s Day. Just Maybe we won’t be in such a hurry to leave the fellowship of the saints after the final “Amen.” And just maybe you will finally see the value of coming back on a Sunday night – for after all – now we see that it is a blessing just to be able to meet ONE day a week. Think about it!
Bro. George Williams
On Behalf of the Leadership