Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Woodrow Kroll
Meant for Evil
When Joseph’s brothers despised him and sold him into slavery, they were actually doing Joseph a favor because he ended up being second in command next to Pharaoh (Gen 41:37-45). By his prudent planning, he saved all of Egypt and all the known world in the Middle East from starvation (Gen 41:53-57). Joseph’s enemies, his own brothers in this case, meant it for evil, but it turned out for everyone’s good (Gen 50:20), and their evil deed was actually part of God’s sovereign plan to save Joseph, his brothers, and what would later be the whole nation of Israel.
The Blood of the Martyrs
Saul was perhaps the greatest persecutor of the Christians during the 1st century. He was good at what he did in breathing out threats and murder of the believers in the early church (Acts 9:1-2), but the primary persecutor of the church would later become possibly the church’s greatest missionary. The man who was greatly responsible for persecuting the church and was the church’s chief enemy caused the church to spread due to the persecution, and instead of destroying the church, persecution actually spread the gospel message throughout Judea (Acts 8:3-4). The enemies of the church did what the church itself couldn’t do or wouldn’t do on its own–that is to spread the message of Jesus Christ far and wide. The saying that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church has proven true time and time again over the centuries.
Judas’ Evil for our Good
When Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matt 27:3), he was doing exactly what had been prophesied for centuries (Zech 11:13), and when Jesus’ own friend betrayed Him (Psalm 41:9), God was not caught by surprise. Nothing ever just occurs to God. God knew this would be so, and Judas’ evil and the evil done by the Jewish leaders and even Pilate and the Roman soldiers fulfilled what was long ago prophesied (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53). These men’s evil deeds, as the enemies of Christ, were used by God to bring the greatest blessing that anyone could ever know–that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we might be saved. This Satan-inspired evil was the downfall of the very one who inspired it, and Jesus’ death on the cross brought victory for those who would believe in Jesus and sealed Satan’s fate that very day at Calvary.
Conclusion
Martin Luther was right when he said even the Devil is God’s Devil and the evil he does fulfills God’s purposes, so the next time your enemies do you harm, see them as a blessing in disguise because God can bring good out of the worst of evil.
