Omagh Methodist Church | Methodist Church in Ireland



Mrs Doreen Preston: Reflection on Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives”I draw a lot of inspiration from the?story of?Joseph, a lot of things happened to him that could have been construed as accidents. There were plenty of unfortunate mishaps in Joseph’s life, such as being tossed by his jealous and envious brothers into a pit and then sold into slavery. But later, and after many more trials ,Joseph told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good so that others might be saved”Joseph, the oldest son of Jacob and Rachel was a dreamer of dreams. As a youngster he was over-confident. His natural self-assurance increased by being, Jacob’s favourite son and by knowing of God’s designs on his life. God intended all that happened for good; He is a God of intention and has a purpose, a target, a goal, and a plan. God was a giant step ahead of?Joseph’s brothers, thwarting their evil intentions to suit his own?purposes. Joseph’s problems did not catch God off guard, presenting him with situations he wished would never have happened. From the beginning God calculated for Joseph to experience all these things. Why? For the salvation of others.Joseph’s self-assurance, moulded by pain and combined with a?personal knowledge of God, allowed him to survive and prosper where most would have failed. He added quiet wisdom to his confidence and won the hearts of everyone he met. He faithfully served his Egyptian master, Potiphar. After being wrongfully accused by Potiphar’s wife and imprisoned, he became popular not just with the prison warden, but with other prisoners and eventually with Pharaoh, and after many years even those ten brothers.God?brought good from the brothers’ evil deed, from Potiphar’s wife’s false accusation, from the cupbearer’s neglect and from seven years famine. The experiences in Joseph’s life taught him that God brings good from evil for those who trust him. Even when someone disappoints us, or bad things happen to us we can know that God’s hands stay on the wheel of our lives from start to finish so that everything follows his intentions for our lives. This may mean our trials have more meaning than we realize. Our problems have more purpose than we can imagine. Not because God merely uses bad things, but because God intended them so that others might be brought to Jesus through our example.The secret of Joseph’s faith is in a lifetime of trusting God. Our faith is like a muscle; it grows with exercise, gaining strength over time and after a lifetime of exercising trust our faith can be as strong as?Joseph’s.Lord God,?I praise you that your intentions in our lives are always good. Every “accident” happens so that?somehow, someway, others might be introduced to the Saviour through us.Amen.Doreen Preston. 22/09/2020 ................
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