God Alone Can Make Easters of Good Fridays

Philip De Courcy spoke last weekend at Compass Bible Church. If you missed it, click here. His message was truly profound.

Pastor De Courcy's sermon, entitled "It's Not As Bad As You Think," was taken from Genesis 50:20. In this passage, Joseph is speaking to his brothers not long after their father's death. He tells them, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." That's a pretty loaded statement to make to anyone, but especially to your brothers.

Sadly, Joseph's family was just about as dysfunctional as it gets. In case you don't know this story, the trouble started because Joseph was clearly his father, Jacob's, favorite. His ten older brothers didn't appreciate Joseph's high position in their family - especially when he shared a dream in which he learned his family would one day bow down to him (see Genesis 37).

This "dream" of Joseph's was too much for his brothers. They sold him into slavery and allowed their father to think his favorite son was dead (Genesis 37). Long story short, Joseph found himself wrongly imprisoned but, later, found himself in the palace of Pharaoh (Genesis 40-45). "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good."

It is easy for us to think that God is only involved in certain, good details of our lives. Surely, He has no hand in the evil that happens. But, Pastor De Courcy reminded us that God is Sovereign and has allowed everything that happens. This is because God knows what the ultimate outcome will be, and, for the Christian, it is always for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

As Pastor De Courcy profoundly shared, "On Good Friday, when the devil was doing his worst, God was doing His best - redeeming man." Good Friday didn't make sense to most who were present that day. It appeared that God had lost and Satan had won. God's Son was being killed - a most grievous evil. But, only God knew that in this heinous act, His Son was doing what no one else could do - take the punishment for the sin of the world (John 1:29).

This does not mean that God is the author of sin, but He does ordain everything that comes to pass. This can be a hard fact to swallow, especially if you've gone through something especially tragic at the hands of another. But, if you are a Christian, then God has ordained that terrible thing for some kind of good. We may never see what that good is this side of heaven, but we are promised in Romans 8:28 that the good is there.

Do you believe that God has allowed a terrible tragedy, or even just a bad day, in your life for good? Can you trust that God has allowed what you didn't want to have happen for the ultimate good of your life?

Remember, God alone can make Easters of Good Fridays. Don't take my word for it, click the link at the beginning of this post to view Pastor De Courcy's message in its entirety.

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your great and precious promises in Your word, the Bible. Your promises are true, even if I can't see evidences of some of them right now. Please strengthen my faith in You and Your word as I wait for Your promises to come to fruition in my life. Thank You that all Your promises are "Yes!" in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Please help me to trust You as I believe the truth of Romans 8:28 - That in all things You work for the good of those who love You, who have been called according to Your purpose. Thank You for this encouraging truth.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen