You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good.
—Genesis 50:20
Joseph was only seventeen when his jealous brothers conspired to kill him. He escaped their murderous plot only to be sold to a band of Midianite merchants, who then sold him to an Egyptian official.
Things were looking up for Joseph in Egypt—until they weren’t. Falsely accused by a conniving woman, his enraged master had him imprisoned, where his favor to a fellow jailbird was forthwith forgotten.
Nevertheless, he became the second-most-powerful official in Egypt. Later, he said to his terrified brothers, “Don’t be afraid . . . you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
Treasure this truth: God accomplishes his purposes, even when we have no idea what he’s doing, or why. In all your days and doubts, fears and failures, God is in control.
God can bring good out of what seems bad.