Lenten Devotional Day Three
Have you ever had a mini-Joseph experience? In other words have you ever had occasion to say, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”? These words from Genesis 50:20 marked my life in a vivid way in 2022. What a gift to see God’s protection and blessing in my life!
A harder question is to ask is whether I have been on the other side of that. Is there someone who could say that to me? Could they say, “Kristie, you meant evil against me, but God used it for good”? It’s a sobering consideration, but there are people for which this is true. In fact, I think it’s true for everyone. Our hearts are deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and our motivations are rarely, if ever, pure. Tim Keller said, “If you wait until your motives are pure and unselfish before you do something, you will wait forever.” I may not have sold my siblings into slavery, but I have hurt people.
Rationalizing sins is common, but it devalues the cost paid by our Savior. I am not suggesting we have to beat ourselves up — as believers we are robed in Christ’s righteousness —but there is a place for owning our sins fully. After all, Jesus said, “…he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47b). We don’t want to pretend we have only been forgiven for a little. That would not be self aware and worse, it would mean we would love little.
Oswald Chambers made this succinct summation: “Every doctrine that is not imbedded in the Cross of Jesus will lead astray.”
Digging Deeper:
Have you thanked God today for the ways He has rescued you from the evil purposes of others?
Have you asked God to show you how you have intended evil for others?
How might you explain the statement from Oswald Chambers to a new believer?