God Is Good

I was reading in Genesis 45 today the continuing story of Joseph. What an incredible story! They say truth is often stranger than fiction and this is no exception. Being the firstborn of Jacob's true love, Rachel, Joseph enjoyed his father's favor, and endured the wrath of his step-brothers. I can only imagine the horror of being thrown in the pit and then sold into slavery by your own flesh and blood!

Enter the Haiti scene today, and the destruction there is unfathomable. Even the heroes that are there as I write this (guys like Shaun King, Ken Joslin, Chance Craven, etc) have a hard time processing all that they are seeing as they fight to bring hope in the way of aid, food, water, and rescue. Our hearts were not created to know how to deal with this, so they push on, often trying to push images out of their mind but not quite able.

In times of destruction and chaos, the questions always fly around, "How can God allow this?", "How can this happen to good people?" Whether the chaos is caused by forces of nature or by people, there IS a purpose in this storm.

We find the key in Joseph's response when he revealed himself (now as Ruler of Egypt, 2nd only to Pharaoh) to his brothers. "At the time, you meant if for evil, but God meant it for good!"(paraphrase) Joseph had come to understand that in the midst of chaos, God shines brightest. God had sent him on ahead as a slave in Egypt to enable a huge disaster recovery plan that would save not only Egypt but the entire middle eastern region of the world!

Haitians are finding hope in this chaos and the Church in Haiti with help from the Church at large is leading the way. Remember to keep praying that the goodness of God will shine brightly through His Church in Haiti and give if you can give, and go if you can go to help.