Flexible our lives, and because of His gracious hand, even those things that might appear to be lethal to us can be used by our sovereign God to bring life and hope and peace.
is now being done, the saving of many lives.” And there it is again: utter poison, complete evil and pain, used for health and healing. It is the evidence of the unique way in which God works in our lives—our sovereign God who can take even the most heinous of circumstances and still bring about His purpose and plan.
THE REVERSAL OF JOSEPH Consider Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 37-50. Because of deep jealousy, Joseph’s brothers kidnap him, threaten to kill him, throw him down a dry well while they decide, TAKING THE BAD WITH THE GOOD and eventually sell him into slavery. It’s a So as we consider our own life’s journey, horrible scene that the circumstances we are now “Let yourself be human. enduring or some of the pains we can pass over too quickly. and evils we have faced, it is But don’t ever forget This is abject evil. important that we remember It’s poison. His brothers the merciful, wonderful this truth. God is sovereign. sovereignty of God.” have murder in their Nothing is beyond His grasp hearts. They sell him even when it may appear as if into slavery. Who does that to his own family? things are spinning perilously out of control. This is human depravity at its worst. If there Perhaps the hardest thing when we has ever been anyone who would have been find ourselves in one of those places is the thinking his world was spinning out of control waiting. I would imagine Joseph had some and that evil was running rampant, it was pretty strong feelings as he lay at the bottom Joseph. He certainly felt exactly the way you of that well. It was a very long time from then and I have at various points in our lives. until the time he came to leadership in Egypt. And yet, this amazing thing starts to What I see, however, is that Joseph never happen. What we think is terrible turns out to allowed any feelings of anger, fear or revenge be something overwhelmingly, miraculously to overtake his core belief that even in that good. Through a series of events, Joseph is moment, God was still in control. God was put in charge of Egypt. As a famine looms, still at work; therefore, God would ultimately he manages Egypt’s grain in such a way that prevail with His plan and purpose. the people do not starve, but thrive. It was a Life is hard, no doubt. Ministry is hard too. potentially crushing circumstance that even We all hit points in which we wonder, “Why brought people from other countries to Egypt did God allow this?” It’s okay. Feel the feelings. for relief, including Joseph’s brothers, which Let yourself be human. But don’t ever forget eventually led to their reconciliation. the merciful, wonderful sovereignty of God As the narrative concludes, Joseph made that “works for the good of those that love an enormously important statement in him, who have been called according to His Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but purpose” (Romans 8:28). † God intended it for good to accomplish what
PAYMENT PLANS Knox is introducing new flexible payment plans for our Knox Online and Doctor of Ministry students. These plans bundle all program costs (tuition, fees, and Logos Bible Software) into one convenient monthly payment plan. Our goal is to see that you graduate with little or no debt, allowing you greater freedom to engage in bold mission for God’s kingdom.
LEARN MORE:
www.knoxseminary.edu
FALL 2013 | KNOX NOW
11