» ‘But as for you, 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; I will provide for you and your little ones. ‘ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them» (Genesis 50:20, 21).
“PAIN IS INEVITABLE, but bitterness is optional,» people say, and quite rightly so because, although we cannot control much of the bad that happens to us, we can control the way we respond to what happens to us.
Take, for example, the experience Kathleen Gooley had when, shortly before her wedding, her boyfriend told her that he no longer wanted to get married. By that time, the couple had already paid for the reception, which meant they would lose about $4,500 that the dinner cost for one hundred and fifty people. What did Kathleen do in such an adverse circumstance? According to The New York Times, she decided to continue with the dinner; however, instead of her family and friends, she invited beggars and homeless people from Norwalk, Connecticut. As a result of her initiative, several local businesses donated the flowers and provided transportation for the new «guests.»
The best thing of all? With the preparations for the program, Kathleen was so busy that she did not have time to get depressed by her romantic failure; and, of course, the city’s poor enjoyed what for many was the happiest night of their lives.
There it is! We cannot control the circumstances of life, but we can control how we respond to those circumstances. With her attitude, Kathleen turned a painful event into a blessing «for many people.»
Many centuries earlier, Egypt witnessed a similar event in what happened in the life of Joseph, Jacob’s son. If anyone had plenty of reasons to be bitter, it was certainly Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers, he was wrongly imprisoned for sexual harassment, but Joseph did not allow these adversities to embitter his life. Instead, he was God’s instrument to «save the lives of many people,» as todays text points out.
Is there an event in your life that you painfully remember today? Any wounds someone caused to your heart? If this is the case, Josephs story teaches us that God can make that evil thing that happened work for something good, whether in your life, or in the lives of others. Above all, it reminds us that between bitterness and forgiveness, you will always do better if you choose the path of forgiveness.
Heavenly Father, today, please pull out the roots of bitterness that are in my heart and turn my painful experiences into a source of blessing «for many people.»
#AdultsDevotional
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
