2020 Was God’s Idea
65 Do good to your servant according to your word, Lord. 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
for I trust your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray. but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. (Psalm 119:65-72)
51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (Genesis 41:51-52)
28 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)
for I trust your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray. but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. (Psalm 119:65-72)
51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (Genesis 41:51-52)
28 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)
One of the declarations that we have been making over ourselves for the past few days is a declaration that God works all things together for our good. Let’s slow down a little today and just consider that statement for a moment. After everything that happened to us in 2020, is that genuinely true?
In the book of Genesis, Joseph goes through thirteen very difficult years. He is rejected by his brothers, robbed of his possessions, sold into slavery, human-trafficked, falsely accused of sexual assault and then thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit. At the end of those thirteen years, he is set free and marries. Soon he has two sons. He names the first of them Manasseh, which is Hebrew for Forgotten. He essentially declares that the joy of parenthood has brought him through to a place where he has forgotten the difficult years that went before.
That’s not a bad place to be, but it isn’t God’s best for us. He wants us to do more than forget the trials of 2020. He wants to change our view of things so completely that we actually thank him for them. I know that this sounds crazy, but hear me out, because it’s actually what the Scriptures teach us! By the time that Joseph had his second son, he had come to a place of faith that the truth expressed in Romans 8:28 is genuinely true – that the Lord works in all things for the good of those who love him. He names his second son Ephraim, which is Hebrew for Doubly Fruitful. It is a declaration that he is twice as blessed in his life now than he would have been had he not gone through those thirteen years of trouble. Are you able to say that with Joseph about the events of 2020?
The writer of Psalm 119 certainly could. Have another read of verses 65-72, a bit more slowly. The psalmist says that before he was afflicted, he went his own way, but that the troubles that he suffered threw him onto God and taught him far more deeply the truth of what the Scriptures say about him. He therefore declares that the Lord is good in all his actions – even in his action during the years that caused him so much pain. “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees,” he declares. Yes, he lost some of his freedom. Yes, he lost large sums of money. But “The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”
It’s important to note that Romans 8:28 doesn’t say that God causes all the circumstances of our life, but rather that he works in them all for our good. If something bad happens to us, we can be tempted to blame God. But that would be to ignore the reality of Satan and the fact that other people sometimes use that their free will badly, in a way that affects us negatively. What this verse promises is that, no matter what we go through, God will ensure that he turns it around for our good as we trust him to know what is best for us. It tells us that he has called us for a specific purpose and that nothing we can experience can ever get in the way of that. God is so good that he can even turn the worst events in our lives into good things for us in the end. God wants to help you to do more than look back on 2020 and forget the hard times. He wants to help you to look back and praise him for what happened to you.
In the book of Genesis, Joseph goes through thirteen very difficult years. He is rejected by his brothers, robbed of his possessions, sold into slavery, human-trafficked, falsely accused of sexual assault and then thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit. At the end of those thirteen years, he is set free and marries. Soon he has two sons. He names the first of them Manasseh, which is Hebrew for Forgotten. He essentially declares that the joy of parenthood has brought him through to a place where he has forgotten the difficult years that went before.
That’s not a bad place to be, but it isn’t God’s best for us. He wants us to do more than forget the trials of 2020. He wants to change our view of things so completely that we actually thank him for them. I know that this sounds crazy, but hear me out, because it’s actually what the Scriptures teach us! By the time that Joseph had his second son, he had come to a place of faith that the truth expressed in Romans 8:28 is genuinely true – that the Lord works in all things for the good of those who love him. He names his second son Ephraim, which is Hebrew for Doubly Fruitful. It is a declaration that he is twice as blessed in his life now than he would have been had he not gone through those thirteen years of trouble. Are you able to say that with Joseph about the events of 2020?
The writer of Psalm 119 certainly could. Have another read of verses 65-72, a bit more slowly. The psalmist says that before he was afflicted, he went his own way, but that the troubles that he suffered threw him onto God and taught him far more deeply the truth of what the Scriptures say about him. He therefore declares that the Lord is good in all his actions – even in his action during the years that caused him so much pain. “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees,” he declares. Yes, he lost some of his freedom. Yes, he lost large sums of money. But “The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”
It’s important to note that Romans 8:28 doesn’t say that God causes all the circumstances of our life, but rather that he works in them all for our good. If something bad happens to us, we can be tempted to blame God. But that would be to ignore the reality of Satan and the fact that other people sometimes use that their free will badly, in a way that affects us negatively. What this verse promises is that, no matter what we go through, God will ensure that he turns it around for our good as we trust him to know what is best for us. It tells us that he has called us for a specific purpose and that nothing we can experience can ever get in the way of that. God is so good that he can even turn the worst events in our lives into good things for us in the end. God wants to help you to do more than look back on 2020 and forget the hard times. He wants to help you to look back and praise him for what happened to you.
1) Be honest. How do you feel about these three passages of Scripture?
2) How do you feel about other passages, in 1 Peter and in James, that command us to “rejoice in our trials” because we trust the Lord to turn them around for our good?
3) Genuinely, how are you looking back on 2020 right now? The Lord doesn’t simply want to take us on a journey from bitterness to forgetfulness. He wants to take us further, into praise for how good he is towards us.
2) How do you feel about other passages, in 1 Peter and in James, that command us to “rejoice in our trials” because we trust the Lord to turn them around for our good?
3) Genuinely, how are you looking back on 2020 right now? The Lord doesn’t simply want to take us on a journey from bitterness to forgetfulness. He wants to take us further, into praise for how good he is towards us.
Father God, last year was hard. This year isn’t getting easier in a hurry, either. But, Father, I choose to trust you in the midst of it all. I don’t just want to close my eyes to forget about the suffering in my own life and in the lives of my friends. I want to learn what Joseph and Paul and the psalmist learned – that you work in all things for my good. Help me to believe that, Lord. Right now, I choose to thank you. I choose to declare that it was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees. Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have been brought to you with help from our friends at Freedom In Christ.
Join our online service at everyday.online
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have been brought to you with help from our friends at Freedom In Christ.
Join our online service at everyday.online