Working Things Out For Good

While visiting an office in Dayton, Ohio, I struck up a conversation with the receptionist. There had been a terrible flood that week throughout the Midwest United States. I proposed that perhaps God was judging our land for moral and spiritual failure. "Oh, no," exclaimed the lady, "God would never do that -- God is a good God, a God of love!" I wonder how many people had that attitude in Noah's day as the flood waters rose?

Is God a "good" God who can only do "good" things? What does this mean? Consider just a few of the things He has caused in human history:

Sending Adam and Eve out of the garden

The flooding of the entire world

The confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The wandering of Abraham

The barrenness of many godly women such as Sarah, Rachel, Rebeckah, and Hannah

The enslavement of Joseph and later the Hebrew people.

Is God really good? Does He care that bad things are happening to me?

Main thought: The goodness of God means that He is able to and always does work things out for His good purposes so that I can accept my circumstances, refuse to take revenge, and maintain hope.

Scripture Passage: Genesis 50:19-21; 45:4-8

1. God, in His unchanging nature, is always good.
2. God is always good even when life is not. (Gen. 50:19-20a)
3. God, because of His goodness, reaches down from heaven to work in our lives. (Gen. 50:20b-21)
4. In His goodness, God always works toward the ultimate good. (Gen. 45:5-8)

1. God, in His unchanging nature, is always good.

The goodness of God is defined by Easton as, "A perfection of His character which He exercises towards His creatures according to their various circumstances and relations." (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

In the Bible, God tells us His goodness:

Belongs to Him alone: Jesus declared, "No one is good but One, that is, God" (Mat. 19:17b, NKJV).

And never changes: "Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually" (Psa. 52:1, NKJV).

In His character: "The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him" (Nahum 1:7, NKJV).

Is universally applied: "The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psa. 145:9, NKJV).

In His creative work: At each point in His creative handiwork, God declared it good. (Gen. 1:1-31) In fact, the Bible says, "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving" (1 Tim. 4:4, NIV) .

In His daily work: "You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes" (Psa. 119:68, NKJV).

In His commands: Moses instructed the people to fear God for THEIR good (Deut 6:24).

God is indeed good. We must understand this basic attribute of His character. His "goodness," however, is related to His righteousness and holiness rather than to our comfort, desires, or even happiness. God never causes anything evil or unrighteous or unholy for that would violate His character. Yet, He does act in ways that bring about righteousness and holiness. Sometime, even the evil that humans and demons commit is used by God to bring about righteousness and holiness in His people.

The "good" that God is causes Him to work in mysterious ways -- ways that we do not always understand nor are we able to totally reconcile in our limited minds -- that achieve the ultimate "good" He seeks. Things may not seem good to us; quite often they are not good at all. Often we do not know what God is doing. We can be sure, though, that God is good and, as His child in Christ, we can know for certain that He will cause all things to work together for His ultimate "good" (Rom. 8:28).

My father-in-law, "Poppa" to the grandchildren, used to like to pick on Bryan because Bryan would pick back at him. He would say things like, "Bryan, that Daddy of yours is no good!" Today, Bryan would just shrug and say, "Yea, right." But back when he was little, he would fight back with "He is too!" "He is not!" shouted Poppa. "He is too!" shouted Bryan. "Well, what's he good for?" asked Poppa. "Well, he's...uh...he's...well, he's good for me!" Poppa grinned and said, "Well if he's good for you then that's all right."

That's the way we need to view God because that is how He is -- good. He reveals to us in His word and in our lives that He is indeed good. He is good to me and He is good for me.

2. God is always good even when life is not. (Gen. 50:19-20a)

Joseph learned that God is indeed good even when life seems to have turned out completely different than what you had hoped it would be. How often we fail to recognize that God is indeed good when our dreams are shattered by some tragic event or heartwrenching personal failure? In Gen. 50:20, Joseph announces to his brothers: "you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" In spite of even rebellious plans on our part, God continues to work to bring about His righteous plans. God is good -- totally. He is at work to bring about what is good even when we are not.

And God will get His ultimate plan accomplished in His timeframe. It is amazing that He can do this even when we are actively rebelling against His will. Joseph's brothers thought they were being self-serving. They thought they could solve their hatred of Joseph by selling him off into slavery. Yet God was at work all along to bring Joseph to a place where a supreme good could be accomplished. Do you really believe God is good or do you worry -- sometimes, maybe often -- if God is at work, if He really is in control because things sure don't SEEM good. When you worry like this about God's goodness, consider what happens:

You start to disagree with His approach -- "God, this way isn't working, you need to do it like this..."

You disagree with His timing -- "God, now would be a really good time to get involved..."

You disagree with His goals -- "God, you don't really want me to do this, do you?"

You then think you know better and simply rebel against what He has said is good and right.

Or you deny He is at work at all through negativism or cynicism about current events (what kind of witness is this to unbelievers?).

You can even worry when living a seemingly godly life, walking with Him -- "God I'm doing all the right things so why haven't you worked in my situation?"

All this is unnecessary worry for Jesus told us, "Do not worry" (Mat. 6:25), "Do not be afraid" (Mat. 28:10), "Let not your heart be troubled" (John 14:1). Why? Because God is good. At is core, the worry adds up to basic unbelief in God's goodness -- God is good. If you believe in God's goodness, you will trust what He is doing even when you don't know what He is doing. Does this means all the problems and pain will go away? No, but it will give you a perspective on the situation that will help you through it. God IS good. I can accept the good things in life. But because God is always good, I can accept even painful or unjust circumstances.

 

3. God, because of His goodness, reaches down from heaven to work in our lives. (Gen. 50:20b-21)

The amazing thing about God's goodness is that He takes time out of running the whole universe to get involved in my situation. God is bigger and more important than anything or anybody. Yet, He knows me and my circumstances. And He involves Himself in my life. As Joseph states:

'...God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.' And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen. 50:20b, NKJV)

I like the fact that Joseph adds, "alive." It lets me know that he does not mean God will someday work for good in eternity -- though He surely will then -- but that He is also at work in time.

Our great and good God condescends (comes down to our level) to help us. As Charles Spurgeon put it:

It is God's making himself little which is the cause of our being made great. We are so little, that if God should manifest his greatness without condescension, we should be trampled under his feet; but God, who must stoop to view the skies, and bow to see what angels do, turns his eye yet lower, and looks to the lowly and contrite, and makes them great. (Charles Spurgeon, "Morning and Evening", April 9)

Joseph was humbled by years of rejection, slavery, and imprisonment. These were long, painful years when nothing made sense. Yet through it all, he learned that God is good. And he saw that God was involved with all that happened in his life to bring about His good and perfect will. Through Joseph's faithfulness to his good God, many people's lives were saved from a ravaging famine. Is your life a proverbial famine or storm? Is God at work through it all? You can learn from Joseph's life a resounding, "YES! God is good and God is at work in MY life!"

4. In His goodness, God always works toward the ultimate good. (Gen. 45:5-8)

"But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." (Gen. 45:4-8 NKJV)

The past is past. This is the point at which Joseph revealed himself to his brothers for the first time. They were understandably afraid because they were the ones who had sold him into slavery some twenty years ago. Now Joseph was in charge of all the land of Egypt. Joseph tries to make them feel better, knowing they are dismayed at his presence. He tells them "what's done is done." Each of them had to deal with God's work of conviction concerning this matter. Joseph knows of their repentance from the tests he gave to them. So the time has come to put the past behind them and work toward finally building a relationship with one another.

The purpose is clear. Joseph was sent ahead "to preserve life" (v.5) and a posterity for the family of Jacob (v.7) the remnant from which would spring "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Rev. 5:5, NKJV), the promised Redeemer. Had Joseph not been in this position, Jacob's family might have starved or been dispersed to different parts of the globe to escape starvation. But God's plan was to save them by moving them, temporarily, to Egypt (v.7). Though they would eventually be enslaved by the next Pharaoh, God would redeem them from slavery and bring them miraculously into the Promised Land.

The perpetrator is God. Joseph, for the third time, emphasizes: "So now it was not you who sent me here, but God"(Gen. 45:8, NKJV). Joseph's brothers do not escape blame in this statement. Joseph is simply emphasizing God's sovereign hand in what was being accomplished. We need to be careful when we interpret Scripture to keep God's character in mind. God is always good (Psalm 107:1) and always just. (Deut. 32:4) God did not sin by selling Joseph into slavery -- Joseph's brothers sinned. God did not overlook their sin at all -- In fact, through the tests Joseph instigated, God showed them that sinful acts have definite consequences. But in that sinful act, God used and arranged circumstances that would lead Joseph to the right hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. He developed Joseph's faith and character to the point that Joseph would lead a great rescue mission for this part of the world. More importantly, Joseph was the instrument of salvation for Jacob's family, the descendents of Abraham, the chosen people of God.

My own job was transferred to a different director in the company. This meant a new location which was much further away from home. As I discussed the move with my new boss, I found out my job function was being completely changed as well. The project I would now manage was old, less visible, and seemingly less important than my previous ones. This left me more than a little sad, angry, and confused. Several months later, one of my new employees, whom I had learned was a Christian, shared a rather touching confession with me:

I was ready to leave the company before you came. The previous manager was so mean to me -- she never said anything good. She never asked for anything; she demanded everything with a fist pounding on the desk. I kept praying each night to God for help. Then one day, you came. Now my whole outlook on my job has changed.

It was at this point that I understood why this "bad assignment" was necessary. I was looking for "my" good; but the good that God was working was not just for me but certainly for this other child of God. Doubtless there are others who need to be ministered to with kindness and respect. Surely, there are those who will minister to me as well. Through it all, I know that He is working for my good also -- to make me humble and holy. And that is good!

Reflect on YOUR life: Circumstances may seem difficult. Remember that God is good. The difficult times are like "heavenly sandpaper" which smoothes out the rough edges of our faith. God is at work for good, for your good -- to make you holy and righteous in your walk with Him. If it takes pain and misfortune to make you a humble soul who trusts in God, then rejoice -- for that is good!

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com

Copyright 1999, Randy Lariscy.