God’s grace is not just God’s undeserved love that stops bad things from happening to His people. God’s grace is also His undeserved love that transforms what we define as bad things into things that are for good for those who love Him and are seeking to fulfill His call on their lives.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
This verse is not saying that every single thing that happens in our lives is going to be good. We live in a fallen world which is dominated by sin. Living in a world like that means that we will face difficult and painful things in our lives. The promise that God makes us is that when we turn those things over to Him, He will transform them into things that will ultimately benefit us.
There are two incidents in the Old Testament that illustrate this truth.
Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob and was the only son of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel. Joseph was his father’s favorite and Jacob didn’t hide that fact. He showed that Joseph was his favorite in many ways and Joseph’s brothers were well aware of it.
Joseph also did things that did not help the situation with his brothers. He had dreams that indicated that his father, mother, and brothers would someday bow before him. So, when his brothers got a chance, they sold Joseph to some merchants and told Jacob that he had gotten killed by some wild animal.
Joseph was bought by Potiphar and served him so well that he was put in charge of all his master had. When Joseph was falsely accused of attempted rape by Potiphar’s wife, he was thrown into prison.
While Joseph was in prison, he interpreted some dreams for Pharaoh’s servants. One was that one servant would be restored to Pharaoh’s service and that the other servant would be executed. Joseph asked the servant who would be restored to service to remember him to Pharaoh. When both dreams came to fulfillment, the servant that got restored forgot about Joseph for a while. When Pharaoh had a dream that no could interpret, the servant remembered Joseph. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and was elevated to the second highest office in Egypt.
Joseph in that powerful position was able to save his family and bring them to Egypt for protect and provision.
The situations for Joseph were not good in themselves. They made Joseph a powerless, imprisoned slave. But God used them to save Joseph’s family. This was the family through which God would build a nation for His name and through whom the Messiah would come.
After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers came and told him that Jacob had told them before he died that he wanted Joseph to forgive his brothers. In Genesis 50:19-20 Joseph says, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Joseph knew that his brothers meant to harm him but that God was more powerful than their jealousy and caused it to lead to good. Good for Joseph and all his family.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that God’s grace is more powerful than man’s evil.
The second incident is found in 2 Kings 6. God is revealing to Elisha the battle plans of the King of Syria. Elisha was then sharing the plans with the King of Israel so that he could defeat the Syrians.
When the King of Syria finds about what is happening, he sends an army to capture Elisha. When Elisha’s servant sees the Syrian army surrounding the city where he and Elisha are, he goes and gets Elisha. When Elisha sees the situation, he tells his servant not to fear because there are more on their side than on the Syrian’s side. Elisha prays that God would open his servant’s eyes and the servant sees that beyond the Syrian army is an army of fire there to protect him and Elisha.
Elisha prays for God to blind the eyes of the Syrian army and God does. Elisha guides the Syrian army to the capital of Israel where a treaty is worked so that the war between Israel and Syria is ended.
The servant only saw the Syrian army but Elisha say the army of God surrounding them. Elisha trusted that God had a plan and he trusted God to work that plan not only for his good but the good of all God’s people.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is God working a good and great plan to benefit His people even in difficult circumstances.
God’s grace takes things we call bad and makes them work together for our good.
In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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