God’s Long-Term Goal

Talk about things going horribly wrong. One day Joseph was on top of the world, running an errand for his father, and the next day he literally was in the bottom of a pit. He was sold to Midianite slave traders and ended up in Egypt as a servant in the house of a man named Potiphar.

But through God’s providence, he was elevated to a position of great authority and became the second-most powerful man in the world. He was able to help his father and brothers and do much good.

In the end, Joseph, with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, was able to look back and say to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good” (Genesis 50:20).

I have seen a lot of things happen in my life that I didn’t understand at the time. As a few years have passed by, however, I’m able to look back and see why the Lord allowed what He did.

Not everything works out that way. There will be things we go through in life, hardships we experience, difficulties we must face, that will not have a convenient answer. There will be some unanswered questions. There will be some things that, even at the end of our lives, we will not be sure why the Lord allowed them.

But on that final day when we stand before Him, all of our questions will be answered. All of our problems will be resolved. As 1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us, “All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

God allows us to go through trials, but He has a long-term goal: to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ.