My dad grew up near Los Angeles during the Great Depression. His mother had a mental illness, and his father died when he was only four years old. He had four older brothers who bullied him. The moment they turned eighteen, they moved out, saying their mother was too controlling.
Dad was the only Christian in his family. His mom claimed to be one, but when my dad was offered a job teaching at a Bible school in Chicago, my mother told him that God would curse him if he left her.
After discussing this issue with his pastor, Dad took the job. Since his mom prayed curses on him for serving God, we might think he would have rebelled against God. But God used the tough circumstances in his life (and the difficult people) for my father’s benefit. Four of Dad’s five theology degrees were paid for by his mother. For over thirty-two years, he taught the Bible to thousands of missionaries and pastors.
This scenario reminds me of Joseph’s story in the Old Testament. His older brothers harassed him and sold him into slavery when he was seventeen. Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt for two years after being falsely accused. Finally, the moment arrived. Joseph’s brothers needed something from him, since he represented the Egyptian government.
Egypt had followed Joseph’s plan and stored up grain, anticipating a famine. Not recognizing him, his brothers begged him for food. Had I been in Joseph’s place, I would have been tempted to let them starve for their cruelty. Instead, Joseph made sure his little brother, Benjamin, was taken care of and then forgave his older brothers. Joseph told his brothers that what they meant for evil, God meant for good. In providence, God had sent Joseph ahead to save Israel.
Perhaps we all can think of an adverse event God used for good in our lives (Romans 8:28). Our thoughts are very different from God’s. God sees the entire story of our lives from on high. Although why we suffer is hard to understand, we can trust God to work all the circumstances of our lives, even the hard ones, together for good.
Trust God to bring good from the bad.
Joy Nevin Axelson is a Christian author of several published poems and works of nonfiction. She graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and from the University of California, Santa Barbara, respectively. She also attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and North Park University. In addition to being an author, she is the translation coordinator for GlobalFingerprints, the EFCA’s child sponsorship branch. Her translations of training materials are used at twelve international sites. She enjoys traveling with her husband and two older children. Check out her website at www.joynevinaxelson.weebly.com.