SCRIPTURE:

Romans 8:28
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Ecclesiastes 3:11a
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

DEVO:

Just as we saw in the book of Job, we have an advantage as we read the stories of most of our biblical heroes. The advantage? We know the end of their stories. If you were leafing through Genesis 37-50 and didn’t know the end of Joseph’s story, it would read very much like a tragic thriller. Disaster, disappointment, and detours seem to await him at every turn. He’s sold into slavery by his eleven brothers because they are jealous of his father’s favor. He becomes a slave in Potiphar’s household in Egypt. Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses him of sexual misconduct, and he is thrown into prison where he is forgotten for years. Only after about thirteen years from the moment he is sold into slavery is he released from prison by Pharaoh himself and immediately elevated to the second in command in the greatest nation in the world!

Many people would have given up hope months into Joseph’s journey, yet he remained faithful to God through over a decade. He persisted in fixing his gaze toward the dream God gave him at the beginning of the story. At the end of the book, he stands in front of his brothers who have come to Egypt in search of food during one of the most devastating famines in ancient history. He grants them forgiveness for the sin they committed against him and says one of the most powerful sentences in scripture: “What the enemy meant for evil, God has used for good and for the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20).”

This knowledge of the end of the story is a major advantage to us as the reader. Rather than experiencing the pleasures and opulence of the palace, many of us, like Joseph, have found ourselves in the middle of the proverbial pit or prison. What we must remember is that as Joseph was enduring his story, he didn’t have the benefit of knowing his ending. The fact that we do, can bolster our faith by ensuring us that no matter the situation or season we find ourselves in, it is merely an ingredient to a greater vision God has for our lives. What the enemy wants to use for evil against us, God is going to use for good for us!

It reminds me of my love for cake. If you've ever made a cake, you know there are two distinct types of ingredients: the kind that taste great as is and the ones you don't want to lick off your finger when you are in the middle of baking. Take sugar or icing, for instance. I could easily eat these by themselves. But other ingredients, such as raw eggs, salt, or baking soda, I wouldn’t let near my mouth. One type is sweet and the other is bitter and gross. However, when you mix all of these ingredients together, put them under heat in the oven, and give them a little time they become something beautiful and tasty to be enjoyed by all. 

This is very much like our lives. As we look back, we can begin to recognize how God has taken both the sweet seasons and the bitter ones, mixed them together. over time and through a little heat, He has made something beautiful out of them. However, when we find ourselves in a bitter season, it’s nearly impossible to see the beauty that will come. I believe God put Joseph’s story in the Bible so we could be encouraged in the middle of our own — no matter where we find ourselves.

The pit, Potiphar’s house, and the prison were all ingredients God used in Joseph’s life to prepare him for the Palace. Likewise, the situation in which you have found yourself isn’t your destination, it’s preparation for your destiny.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND JOURNALING:

1. What have been some difficult things that have happened in your life that you can now look back and see God’s hand in turning it into something beautiful?

2. In what ways do you feel God may be making beauty out of the pain you’re currently experiencing? What “ingredients” could God be using now to prepare you for the future?

PRAYER:

Lord, no matter where I find myself today, help me to trust that you’re working this out for my good. Give me insight into what you may be training me for right now that I’ll need for my future. Thank you for turning the enemy’s ploys into ingredients for my destiny.