THEY MEANT IT FOR EVIL BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD

PROCLAMATION

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.  Now therefore fear ye not; I will nourish you, and your little ones.  And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”  Genesis 50:20-21 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After the death of his father Israel, Joseph directed the physicians to embalm him, a process which took forty days.  Joseph mourned his father for seventy days then he asked permission of Pharaoh to bury his father in Canaan according to his dying wish. (Genesis 50:1-5)  Joseph and his brothers and his servants were accompanied to Canaan by all of Pharaoh’s officials with chariots and horsemen. (Genesis 50:6-9)  After burying his father Joseph returned to Egypt.  His brothers were worried that he would mistreat them for what they had done to him, now that their father was dead.  So they sent word to Joseph that their left instructions before he died that Joseph should forgive his brothers of their sins against him.  When Joseph heard this, he wept. (Genesis 50:15-17)  His brothers came to him and threw themselves at his feet and said that they were his slaves.  He told them not to be afraid.  What they did to him was meant to harm him, but The Lord God meant it for good.  God used it to put him in a position to save the lives of many people, and he was put in a position to provide for them and their families. (Genesis 50:18-21)  Joseph stayed in Egypt and lived to be one hundred and ten years old.  Before he died, he made his brothers promise to carry his bones out of Egypt when God led them into the promised land. (Genesis 50:22-26)

 

APPLICATION

Some people, including family members and “so-called-friends,” will do things to us which are meant to do wrong to us.  The things that they meant to harm us, The Good Lord can use to our benefit and for our good. (Genesis 50:20)  Remember, The Bible says, “… All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  Nothing that is formed against us shall prevail, and every lie which is told on us shall be refuted. (Isaiah 54:17)  We are protected by God because we are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)  So, fear not, we belong to Him and we are in His hands, and not one can take us out of His hand. (John 10:29)

ALL THINGS TURN OUT FOR OUR GOOD

PROCLAMATION

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the believers in Rome.  In this chapter Paul begins by stating the privilege that believers have in Christ by virtue of their union with Him. (Romans 8:1)  For as many as are led by The Holy Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)  They are joint heirs with Christ, and if they walk with Him, they will be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17)  Whatever happens in this life, we know that God works things out for the good of them who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose from darkness into His marvelous light. (Romans 8:28 and 1 Peter 2:9)

 

APPLICATION

We may not see it at the time or right away, but even in or following every storm there is a blessing.  Things which appear to be bad, God will work them out for our benefit.  However, this verse applies only to those believers who truly love The Lord.  Unfortunately, many people claim to love Him.  They say the words but do not live by them and in the end, He will say that He never knew those people. (Matthew 7:23 and 25:41)  Jesus, The Christ, said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)  If you love The Lord, then you will believe in and obey His Holy Word.

 

ALL THINGS TURN OUT FOR YOUR GOOD IF YOU LOVE THE LORD

Proclamation:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the believers in Rome.  In this chapter Paul begins by stating the privilege that believers have in Christ by virtue of their union with Him. (Romans 8:1)  For as many as are led by The Holy Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)  They are joint heirs with Christ, and if they walk with Him they will be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17)  Whatever happens in this life, we know that God works things out for the good of them who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose from darkness into His marvelous light. (Romans 8:28 and 1 Peter 2:9)

Application:

We may not see it at the time or right away, but even in or following every storm there is a blessing.  Things which appear to be bad, God will work them out for our benefit.  However, this verse applies only to those believers who truly love The Lord.  Unfortunately, many people claim to love Him.  They say the words but do not live by them and in the end He will say that He never knew those people. (Matthew 7:23 and 25:41)  Jesus, The Christ, said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)  If you love The Lord, then you will believe and obey His Holy Word.

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD

Proclamation:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Explanation:
The Apostle Paul tells the Christians in Rome, who are being persecuted after the crucifixion of Jesus, that God is in control of everything.  Then he says that all of the things that happen to those who love The Lord will work out for their good.

Application:
When we are in the mist of a bad situation, it is often very difficult to accept or understand that God knows what is happening to us.  Intellectually, we know that God is in control, but it is often hard of us to see how some things, which we consider bad, can actually work in our favor and end up being good for us.  However, we must recognize that we have a very limited capacity for understanding and even less foresight.  Every thing that happens is for a purpose.  People enter our lives for a reason or for a season, to test us or to bless us, to hinder us or to help us.  Everything is part of God’s will for us or part of His permissive will.  Remember, Satan had to get God’s permission before he could mess with Job. (Job 1:9 and 2:6) After he passed the test, Job was blessed with twice as much as he had beforehand. (Job 42:10)  We cannot possibly know what God knows about us, our current circumstances and the implications thereof. We just need to trust Him, and since He knows everything about the past, present, and the future, we should trust that God knows what is best for us.  As the song goes, "we will understand it better by and by."

With God All Things Work For Good

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Under the divine inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome to, among other things, encourage them in the face of difficult times.  He told them that The Lord God is in control of all things, and that He can work things out for the good of those who love Him, and for those who have been called according to His purpose.

We would not consider every thing that happens to us to be a good thing.  However bad things may appear to us when they happen, The Lord God is able to use whatever it is to the advantage of those who love Him and are called to His purpose.  Remember, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, and he ended up being in a position to help his brothers survive a famine. (Genesis 37:1-36 and Genesis 41:1-57)  God can use bad situations to prepare believers for, or to put us in position for, the good things that we cannot imagine which He has planned for our future. (1 Corinthians 2:9)