You’ve probably been in a situation that just doesn’t seem fair. Perhaps you’ve been mistreated or hurt. Maybe you’ve been cheated in a business deal, lied to by a friend, or had something special taken from you.
In these situations, you and I naturally start to wonder, What is God doing? Why is He letting this happen in my life?
If you’ve ever felt like life is out of control, I want to give you two words of comfort: But God. These two words have the power to bring a new understanding to every negative situation you will face. To show you what I mean, I want to look at the story of Joseph.
In Acts 7:9-10, we read a summary of what he experienced:
“… the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.”
Joseph’s story is the ultimate example of reassurance for all of us who wonder, What is God doing in my life?
Joseph was betrayed by his own family and led into circumstances beyond his control. He was sold as a slave, falsely accused of attempted rape, and thrown into prison. He experienced a frightful downward spiral like no other, until those two beautiful, life-changing words that we find right there in Acts 7:9—“But God.”
The odds were against Joseph, but God was with him.
His life was out of control, but God had a plan.
He was left with nothing, but God was about to give Him everything.
God delivered Joseph from all of his troubles, gave him favor and wisdom, and took him from the bottom to put him on the top. He was released from prison, given special favor by Pharaoh, and eventually promoted to become the second most powerful person in the whole land.
And at the end of the story in Genesis 50, when his conniving brothers finally realized that Joseph was the governor over all of Egypt, they understandably assumed he would take his revenge on them. But instead, Joseph turned to them and said in verses 20-21, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid.”
Friend, what the devil and his bunch mean for evil, God can turn into good.
If you find yourself today betrayed by those you trusted, or thrown into circumstances beyond your control, remember those two words: But God. You see, when you don’t factor God into the circumstance, things can appear utterly hopeless. But when you factor Him in, all things are possible.
So don’t allow your circumstances to make you bitter. Don’t give up just because you can’t see what God has planned for you right now. Keep looking to God, even if it seems that for a season He’s not working in your life. Friend, He is working. You just hang in there. Don’t quit. He is faithful. You stay plugged in, and you’ll be able to say at the end of your story, “It looked bad, but God…”
