Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 41 – Genesis 50:20 – Intended It For Good – Growing As Disciples
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
Intended For Good
Do you believe that I can do that? Do I believe that you can do what? Do you believe that I can bring good, even out of bad? Do you believe that I can take someone’s awful behavior and terrible mistreatment of you and use it for good? In other words, can I use whatever happens to you to accomplish my purposes and fulfill my plans? I will tell you what I don’t believe. What don’t you believe? I don’t believe you are the author of my being harmed and mistreated by others. That’s good, because I am not the author of your harm. But you have not answered my question. Can I take what has caused you pain and even suffering and turn that around and bring good out of your life? I believe that you can do all things. With you nothing is impossible. With you all things are possible. You can redeem every situation. You can use any and every circumstance of my life for your kingdom and glory. Yes, I have. Yes, I can. Yes, I will. I will however say two things. Go ahead, I’m listening. I don’t expect to like going through pain and suffering even with the knowledge that you will be able to use it in some way for your kingdom and glory. No one likes going through pain and suffering. What else do you want to say? I don’t expect to understand or know how you will someday use even painful and troubling circumstances to accomplish your purposes and plans through my life. Sometimes, I may understand by looking back over my life. Maybe, I will never, in this life, understand how you have or will use something I have gone through for your purposes and plans. Do you always need to understand? Must everything always make sense to you? No, I don’t always need to understand. No, everything doesn’t always need to make sense to me. I do know that I can and will place all my faith in you, even when something doesn’t make sense, or I do not understand. My overriding desire is to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. That is very good.
I do want to discuss one more thing with you. There is something that will short circuit my ability to work in and through you. There is something you must do when you are harmed and mistreated. What is that? You must forgive others. You must not harbor anger and resentment. You must not become bitter or resentful. You must love and forgive others just as I love and forgive you. That I will do. Then I will be able to use every circumstance you go through in life for my kingdom and glory. You will shine brightly in the world for me. You will bear fruit for my Kingdom and bring glory to my name. That is the desire of my heart. That is very good.
Lord, when someone has deliberately harmed me it has been hard for me to forgive them. I have held on to bitterness and anger. Forgive and heal me. Take the harm done against me and powerfully use it for your good purposes. Bear fruit through my life. Amen
Key Question… How difficult has it been for you to forgive someone who took deliberate actions to harm you?
Living It Out… Allow the Lord to use even the harm done against you to accomplish His good purposes through you.
Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord can even use the harm done against to accomplish His good purposes through you.
Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how the Lord has used harm done against you to accomplish good.
Prayer To Bless Others… May you have faith to believe that God will take bad done against you and use it for good.
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