Daily Devotional.

Scripture: Genesis 50:20 What you meant for evil, God meant for good.

We have been prepping the garden. As we pull the weeds we flip them and/or break them up. We use them to fertilize the ground. Also known as, green manure. As I was working out there today I had some thoughts I want to share with you. Weeds – they are such a pain. They can grow like nothing else and they drive me nuts. I can’t let them just hang around. They will steal nutrients from the plants we are going to be growing. So, I have to deal with them. We pull or dig them, chop and/or flip them. We break up the soil to get it ready for planting. We cover the bed with layers of cardboard and top it off with hay. We leave the weeds scattered there, in the beds, under the cardboard. They will now break-down and help feed the plants we plant later on in the season. By pulling, digging, and spreading them out along the beds, we are changing their intended purpose. We have flipped the script and made them work for us. What was intended to harm, will now work for the good of the garden.

Joseph:

I can’t help but think of Joseph -He was favored by his Father. Which was a problem for his brothers. He had dreams that indicated his family would bow down to him. This was also a problem for his brothers. It even caused his father, Jacob, to rebuke him for the dreams. His jealous brothers wound up selling him into slavery when he was 17. They told their father he had been killed by a wild animal. He is still a slave at 28 when the Lord allows him to interpret dreams for Pharaoh’s butler & baker. At 30 he interprets dreams for Pharaoh and becomes 2nd in command. At 37 there is an end to the years of plenty he had told Pharaoh prepare for. At 39 His brothers come to get grain because there was a famine and he is reunited with them. They, after realizing who he was, were sorrowful and repentant. Joseph had forgiven them and told them in Genesis 50:20 What you meant for evil, God meant for good. The Lord used what was wrong, sort of like having weeds in my garden, and turned it around for good. He not only turned it around for Joseph & his family, but also for the people in the land. God used Joseph, prepared & developed him for his plans. His plan was to take the evil his brothers had done and use it to reunite his family, and feed the people of the land during the 7 year famine.

There was no way Joseph could have seen the good at 17, as he’s being sold by his brothers. You and I can’t see the good in most of our tough circumstances. We rarely see how God can use the difficulties and challenges in our lives for good, but he is able. He can make a way where there is no way. He will teach, prepare, and develop us for his plans and purposes. We don’t see Joseph giving up, we see him serving. We don’t see Joseph angry or having a fit, he is yielded to the Lord. Joseph seems to have thrived in every environment

We can trust God’s providential hand. We can know he is working on our behalf. His word tells us in Romans 8:28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.

It says all things…not some…not a few, but all. So, whether it’s weeds in the garden or the weeds in our lives, if we are willing to surrender it all to him, he will turn even the ugliest and most difficult things out for our good. We may not have weed free gardens or weed free lives. Cultivating and working either one takes patience and time. We can trust that the Master Gardener is cultivating on our behalf. Even when we can’t see it, He’s working.

Additional Devotional Scripture Reading:

1. Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
✔ Why? This verse reinforces the truth that even in difficult seasons, God’s plans are ultimately for our good and His glory.

2. 2 Corinthians 4:17

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
✔ Why? Just like Joseph endured hardships that led to a greater purpose, this passage reminds us that God uses our struggles to prepare us for something far greater.

3. James 1:2-4

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Why? Why consider it pure joy? Trials, even those meant for harm, are tools in God’s hands to refine and strengthen us for His purpose. We just have to be surrendered to HIS process, will, & plans.

Blessings to YOU,

Cassandra Lee

There’s JOY in the journey – nourishing body & soul…

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