When our children were young, they loved doing crafts and we
loved to recycle as much as we could, so we often made crafts out of “trash”.
Our son would walk by the trash can and look in and pull out a paper towel or
toilet paper roll or tuna can and say, “Don’t throw this away! I can use that!”
And he did use much of it in very creative ways.
When Joseph was young, he was a bit arrogant and his
brothers were very irritated by him and by the fact that their father favored
Joseph. When they had an opportunity, they sold Joseph into slavery. Joseph
could have said, “Well, I guess that is the end of me. I think I’ll just kill
myself rather than be a slave.” But he didn’t. He became the best slave a master
could ever dream of having! Joseph didn’t blame God, but rather used the
opportunity to learn as much as he could and was promoted to being in charge of
his master’s entire household and property.
When his master’s wife couldn’t get
the attention from Joseph she wanted, she accused him of attempting to rape her
and he was thrown into prison. Again, Joseph could have blamed God and just
quit – given up and waited to die. But instead, he became the best prisoner any
guard ever had to keep. He was promoted to a place of caring for the other prisoners.
And when the time came, Joseph had been fully educated and trained for the
position God had in mind for him – second only to Pharaoh in ruling over Egypt.
He was released from prison and put in charge of the kingdom.
It is easy for us to read about Joseph in the Bible and not
think about how difficult it was for him for many years because we focus on the
end. But if we stop and ponder a bit, there were a lot of years between him
being sold as a slave and him becoming a ruler in Egypt. And all those years,
he was either a slave or a prisoner. He had been mistreated, lied about,
betrayed, and left as trash. And God looked down and said, “I can use this!” Joseph
saw in the end how God had used his circumstances for His purposes. He told his
brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God used it to save the lives of many
people.” (Genesis 50:20)
Sometimes we go through life and hit rocky places –
difficult things that irritate or hold us back. We feel like trash – not good
for anything or like we have been trashed. But God looks down and says, “I can use that,” and He uses the
very things we think are hurting us or hindering us from reaching our goal to shape us – to make us into more useful, productive people for
His Kingdom work.
Someone recently told
me, “God is really changing me. I used to get upset whenever my car wouldn’t
start and throw a fit, kick tires, slam doors, and mutter. Now I don’t feel
like I need to do that anymore. I just get out, use the portable battery
starter, hook it up and start the engine and go. I have way more patience now
than I used to have.” It took several months of an unpredictable vehicle that
started some days and not others and no one could determine the cause. So he
had to frequently get cables and jump start his vehicle. In all of those many
times of being detained and inconvenienced, he grew less and less impatient and
angry and learned to be grateful that he had options and wasn’t left sitting
without help.
Yes, God can use the “trash” in our lives and do good things
with it. “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.” Romans 8:28 NLT
Lord, help me to see when You are working to change me, calling
my heart closer to You. I want to trust You to always be doing Your good work
in me and through me no matter what I am going through. You sometimes do Your best
work through the deepest suffering. Help me to keep it in that perspective and
always be willing to suffer for the good You are doing and will do. There is
nothing too big or painful that You cannot redeem and heal. I worship You and
praise You for who You are and the work You are doing in me. Amen.
