Good from Evil – Genesis 50:20

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

No person, no demon, nor any other created thing can destroy or delay the glorious future God has for His beloved.[1]  No power in heaven or on earth can thwart our all-powerful Creator’s plan for His people, for what He devises will come to fruition and what He purposes will be accomplished.[2]

People can plot evil and promote their agendas, but God will fulfill that which He has designed.[3]  His plan will stand, prevailing through all generations,[4] bringing good for those who love and hold fast to Him.  Consider Joseph.  Though nine of his brothers plotted and connived against him, selling him into slavery to rid themselves of him permanently, God used their knavery, not only to bring vast riches and extreme power to Joseph, but also to deliver his entire family from famine.[5]  Likewise, God protected David, for though Saul set out with a mighty army to kill him, God made Saul helpless before the man He had anointed to be king.[6]  Most profoundly of all, the Christ-haters, who having brutally crucified Him, stood terrified when they learned He had risen from the dead to proclaim victory for the kingdom of God.[7]

These stories of unfathomable good coming from unspeakable evil tell not only of the fulfillment of God’s plan for welfare, and not for calamity for his people, but also of the faithfulness of those who trusted God when their mortal eyes beheld deep and vast human treachery.  These men understood that their heavenly Father ordained their steps;[8] therefore, they refused to surrender to despair, to succumb to sin, or to give way to vengeance.  Rather they honored their faithful God by walking with Him in purity and devotion, by committing their lives to glorifying Him and fulfilling His divine purposes.

If betrayal or disappointment weighs on you, let not your heart be troubled, for the Lord sits on His throne in heaven and rules in sovereignty over the entire universe, and He is faithful to care for His beloved.[9]  While your imagination may fail you as you search for the good God could bring through your trial, remember His ways are higher than our ways.[10]  Trust in His promise to give you a future and a hope.[11]  Rather than fretting, lay down your burden, knowing the Lord will bring good to His children out of even the basest machinations of the cruelest, most evil people.  Sleep well, for He who is watching over you will cause you to dwell in safety.[12]

[1] Jeremiah 29:11

[2] Isaiah 46:9-11

[3] Psalm 33:10-11

[4] Proverbs 19:21

[5] Genesis 37:19-28, 41:41-44, 45:5-8

[6] 1 Samuel 24:2-4

[7] Matthew 28:2-6

[8] Proverbs 20:24

[9] Psalm 103:19

[10] Isaiah 55:8-9

[11] Proverbs 23:18

[12] Psalm 4:8