Tuesday, June 8, 2010
God's Plan for You
For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
—Romans 8:29
Suffering can be used to prepare us for a special task. The greatest example of this is Joseph, who was mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. But Joseph lived out the truth of Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."
His brothers thought they would never see Joseph again, but God, through His providence, elevated Joseph to be the second most powerful man in Egypt, in charge of the food supply. So when a famine hit the land and the brothers of Joseph went to Egypt for grain, little did they know they were standing before the brother whom they had betrayed. They didn't recognize him with the passing of time. And they certainly didn't expect to see him in that position.
But Joseph recognized them, and eventually he revealed to them that he was their brother. They collectively thought, And we are . . . dead. But then he made an amazing statement: "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" (Genesis 50:20).
The same is true for us. Even when bad comes our way, God can bring good out of bad. We often isolate Romans 8:28 and don't think of the verse that follows it: "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."
God's end game, God's big plan for you, is not to merely make you happy; it is also to make you holy. God's desire is that you become like Jesus.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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