Genesis 50:19 But Joesph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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."
Bad things happen to good people. Why? This passage in Genesis 50 shows us one reason people experience suffering; because God uses suffering to save people's lives! Joseph suffered so that his family could be saved from the famine many years later. Joseph's brothers had no idea that they were contributing to the eternal plan of God while they were selling him into slavery. any more than Jesus' executioners knew that they were contributing to God's plan of salvation.
Obviously, this fact does not excuse sin. On the contrary, their sin was horrible and evil. But God has an amazing way of taking something terrible and using it for his plan of redemption.
Here is my hope for us: Let us endure suffering with the joy of knowing that God will not allow it to be wasted. Likewise, let us not waste our suffering, but instead use it as a witness of God's greatness. He is worth it!
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