God Intended It For Good

Devotional Text:

Genesis 50:19-20 (NLT) 19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Devotional Thought:

From their perspective the brothers of Joseph had reason to be afraid. They had treated him with merciless cruelty selling him into slavery years earlier. But Joseph now had the benefit of understanding God’s purposes and was able to be gracious. Joseph also trusted the justice of God to punish wickedness, having seen it exercised upon the baker (cf. Gen. 40:20-21) and perhaps even Potifer’s wife whose false accusations put him into prison.