You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.

I look at Joseph’s life and it’s hard to imagine going through all that he endured. He started out as the favorite son; the one with the embellished coat, which so obviously showed his father’s care and love for him. His brothers had had it with him and wanted to kill him, but instead they settled on selling him to strangers who were passing through. When Joseph was only 17 years old, he was taken to a completely unknown place, where he was eventually put into prison for something he didn’t do. Through each of these trials, his faith never wavered.
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I wonder if Joseph would have been used in such mighty ways if he was holding onto bitterness, anger, and resentment, because of all of the “unfair” circumstances he had been through. He is reunited with his brothers and tells them, “…it was not you who sent me here, but God.” What? You better believe I’d be wanting revenge “for what you put me through”. Joseph had power and he could’ve immediately put them into prison if he chose to, and yet, he loves and he forgives. Joseph’s father, Jacob (remember the one who wrestled with God?), dies and his brothers still find the need to make sure Joseph won’t have revenge on them. Joseph yet again, does not lose focus on the bigger picture. He says “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
How often are we too stuck in our bitterness that we can’t see the big things God has done and is doing in our life circumstances? If Joseph was stuck in all of the “what ifs”, if he was too entrenched in his own anger and selfishness, he wouldn’t have been able to see the big picture. I wonder how many times my anger and selfishness have become a hindrance to me being able to see the beauty of what God is doing and has done through my own life.