DAY 4: GOD USES EVERYTHING

READ

GENESIS 45 : 1 - 8
1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

CONSIDER

John Calvin’s ministry in Geneva should have never happened, at least from a human perspective. Calvin was traveling from Paris to Strasbourg. The most natural route was blocked by military troops so he was forced to take a detour. The detour forced him to travel to Geneva, where he decided to rest for the evening before continuing on to Strasbourg. However, God had different plans. Residents of Geneva discovered his presence and implored him to serve as their minister. Calvin would go on to have a fruitful ministry in Geneva, the benefits of which continue to be felt today.

A detour is “a deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure.” It’s when there’s an unanticipated development or unexpected change of plans. A detour takes a route we hadn’t mapped out. Throughout the Bible, God permits people to experience a detour, a sudden change of plans. Of course, detours are never part of our plans, but they are always part of God’s plan. We discover how God uses what we consider misdirection to accomplish his mission.

Joseph experienced a detour. There was a deviation from the “direct course” when his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. This was certainly not the plan or expectation he had for his life. Yet, God would use it to make him a prince in Egypt. Joseph didn’t get advance knowledge when he was initially sold as to how the story was going to end.

If anyone had reason to believe that their life was out of control, it was Joseph. Talk about sibling rivalries; his brothers had plotted to kill him. They decided that was too mean, so instead they cast him into a waterless pit and then went out to dinner. They decided that was too mean, so they sold him to some strangers who |took him to Egypt. They told his dad that he died so he wouldn’t search for him. Things got even worse. In Egypt, he was made a slave and then through injustice, he was made a prisoner. If there was anyone who had reason to be unsure about whether God was really in control, it might have been Joseph. His life appeared to be merciless and chaotic.

Yes, in these verses, he reflects in hindsight on his life. He doesn’t describe it as chaotic but as purposeful. “God sent me” is his repeated refrain. God has a will. We can’t see it or know it beforehand, but God has a plan. He is working. If you watch the evening news, you are tempted to see the world as a place of chaos.

There is disease, warfare, and disappointment. But Joseph doesn’t see his sufferings as evidence of a world out of control. Rather, he believes the sovereign God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is actively at work.

In order for Joseph to become prince over Egypt, he had to first be betrayed by his brothers and become a prisoner. It’s not the natural pathway for royalty. It’s not the anticipated course. But God uses detours, the unexpected turns, to accomplish his purposes. As it has been said before, God can shoot with a warped bow and ride a lame horse. He doesn’t need people and plans that are polished and perfect. God uses everything, including the evil schemes of siblings, to accomplish his purposes.

Joseph’s story is an important reminder that God doesn’t need our generosity. Of course, he invites and takes pleasure in it but he doesn’t need it in the sense that he’s dependent on it. Around the world today, the church is growing fastest where it has fewer resources, in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It isn’t happening through clever capital campaigns. Instead, God is using the ministry of the church and the proclamation of the gospel to draw people to himself.

John Calvin’s ministry was the result of a detour. Joseph’s rise to royalty started with a betrayal. But these deviations from the expected course were all part of divine providence. None of us know how God will use our generosity. We don’t know for certain whose life will be impacted by our gift. But we do know for certain that our generosity is part of God’s plan for how he accomplishes it.

God uses every size donation, whether it’s the widow’s two mites (Mark 12:41-44) or two million dollars. Like Joseph, we aren’t privileged to know in advance exactly what God will do. But we know that God can use even what was intended for evil for our good and his glory.