Turn Negatives Into Positives
I won’t get too preachy here, but watching the 1995 movie “Joseph” last night stirred my soul again to turn a negative into a positive. The story of the biblical Joseph, the son of Jacob is an inspiring one. You could almost wonder “what does it matter?” It matters much. Let’s look at it. Click to Tweet #-2+ #doitright
Most of us know the story of Joseph. He was the favored son of the patriarch Jacob, who became Israel. His father gave him a multi-colored coat and placed him in authority over his older brothers. They didn’t like that, of course. To top it off, dreams and dream language were encouraged in ancient times, and Joseph had two dreams, so he shared them. That didn’t go well either. They were prophetic dreams foretelling Joseph’s future, and eventually they did come to pass, more than fifteen years after he had them. He didn’t do anything wrong, but he was first thrown in a pit. Then, sold by his brothers into slavery, he ended up in Egypt. Resisting the amorous attentions of his master’s wife got him put in prison, where he languished for years, forgotten.
Eventually, the Egyptian pharaoh had a couple dreams, and finally the cupbearer remembered that a correct interpretation by Joseph in prison had freed him. He brought Joseph to Pharaoh’s attention, and that’s the first turnaround experience Joseph had in years.
After many years, Joseph saw his brothers again, but they didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t dressed like they were, he appeared as an Egyptian. Sure enough, here’s when those dreams he had years before, came true. They bowed down before him, because he was second only to pharaoh in authority in Egypt during a seven-year famine.
The main thing we remember about Joseph’s story is what he said to his brothers all those years later. “…you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” Genesis 50:20 Click to Tweet #-2+ #doitright
That takes some doing. Not only did Joseph forgive his brothers, he told him that God had turned what they’d meant for evil, into good. Amazing, isn’t it?
What about you? Has someone meant you harm? Did God turn it into something good? Leave a comment and let me know.
Donna L.H. Smith 