Last year, our pastors took us through the book of Genesis. On our last sermon in the book, Pastor Cord read a passage I’ve read a hundred times. It’s the story of Joseph, after he’s been sold into slavery and God has redeemed what was lost to him. He’s now the second most powerful man in Egypt and his brothers have come to beg for food. They don’t realize the man they’re begging is the very man they sold.
In Genesis 50:20, Joseph says:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Pastor Cord said the Hebrew word for “good” here means to benefit. And when he said that, God told me that “good” was going to be my word for 2024.
I love doing a word of the year and I usually share it on FB on January 1. I dig into that word, press into it, and ask God to show me whatever He wants to show me about that word.
But I didn’t do that this year.
I’m not sure why. I thought about it a million times, but I just never did. I never even shared this cutesy graphic I made for it. I held onto it and did nothing with it.
Until last week.
Last week was rough and I needed to know God had good plans for my life. I needed to know He had plans that would benefit me. I needed to know that no matter what happens in life, He can use it for the saving of many.
One thing our pastors have always taught us is to never trust a preacher. We should always open the Word of God for ourselves. So, I did my homework this week. It turns out that word “good” is from the word לְטֹובָה or tob, meaning welfare, benefit, good things. Even more specifically, it means welfare, prosperity, happiness.
So, in Genesis 50:20, Joseph says:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for welfare, prosperity, happiness, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
When I started to rewrite this verse, I typed “God intended it for my welfare, my prosperity, my happiness”… but the word “my” isn’t there. God doesn’t ever promise that we will have everything we want. He doesn’t promise to answer prayers the way we want. But He promises to use everything for good. For His good. For the greater good. For the saving of many.
Wow. Trust God with the details of your life. Trust Him when it doesn’t make sense. Trust Him when it hurts. Trust Him in the darkness as well as the light. His plans are good. His plans are for welfare, prosperity, and happiness. And most importantly, they are for His glory.
Just wow, God. That’s good.
