Everything Means Everything

You know, I don't pretend to understand all the ways God uses suffering in our lives for His purposes. But I do know God is weaving together the triumphant tapestry of His purposes even in the midst of our pain.

It's interesting to me that in the very last chapter of Genesis and basically just before Joseph takes his last breath, he catches a glimpse of how God used his pain for His purposes. Talk about "hind-sight-being-20/20!" Well, here's perhaps the best Biblical illustration of this truth.

Listen to Joseph's words from his own lips in Genesis 50:19b-21a, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result - the survival of many people. Therefore, don't be afraid. I will take care of you and your little ones" [HCSB].

I don't konw what else to say except, "WOW! God is awesome!" Let's try to unpack just a few practical insights from these powerful words:

• Am I in the place of God: It seems that anytime we experience pain, we think we have a better plan than God, and our plan is always to eliminate pain! Then, if we're not careful, we commit blasphemy as we speak accusations against God's perfect goodness as we speak of ourselves as being more compassionate or benevolent than God. For example, when we are hurting or someone we love is hurting, we might say something like, "If I were God, I wouldn't do this or that." Or, "If I were God, I wouldn't have allowed this or that to happen." I think it's here we may cross the boundary Job didn't violate after experiencing his first onslaught of pain when the Scripture says in Job 1:22, "Throughout all this [suffering] Job did not sin or blame God for anything" [HCSB].
• You planned evil against me: There's no doubt at all that you'll experience pain in this life. Jesus says in John 16:33b, "You will have suffering in this world" [HCSB]. But the great news is that while we'll suffer pain at the hands of others, we're not ultimately in their hands - we're in God's hands! Jesus finishes the quote above with these words of assurance about His sovereign triumph: "Be courageous! I have conquered the world" [HCSB].
• God planned it for good to bring about the present result: God has a plan, and He uses both our pains and our pleasures for His purposes because His sovereignty is perfect. He's not one dimensional in His power - only able to use what we consider to be "good" things. His sovereignty is absolutely perfect - able to use what we consider to be both "good" and "bad" things for His purpose. This is why when we say, "God uses everything for His purposes," we emphasize that everything means everything. Proverbs 16:4a says, "The Lord has prepared everything for His purpose." See that? Everything means everything.

You know, I've gone through painful things in life that I would never want to experience again for a million dollars, but I would also never take a million dollars for them! Why? Because the things I learned about God during those times are priceless. So we're not being "sadistic" when we acknowledge that God uses our pain for His purposes because we're not looking for pain. Yet, we are being surrendered to God as we rejoice and acknowledge the liberating truth of His sovereignty - the fact that He uses all things, our pains and our pleasures, for His purposes.

Listen, no matter what you go through in life, always remember everything means everything.