Maybe you are reading through the Bible this year, like many people begin to do in January, starting with the Book of Genesis. If you are doing this, you have already noticed that, after a great opening (the majesty of Creation), the story goes downhill, and gets more and more depressing. People sin—a lot—so much so that God eventually floods the whole earth when He can find only one righteous man, Noah, on the planet—and even Noah doesn’t look so righteous later in the story. The families in Genesis can be considered bad examples at times. The first child ever born kills his brother, a younger brother cheats his older brother out of his inheritance, a father threatens to kill his son, and a group of brothers sell their younger brother as a slave and also murder a whole community after their sister is raped. There’s more, but it begins to make watching TV look uplifting.
What are we to make of all this? Where is God in this mess? God creates people, but they turn out badly, for the most part. We begin to wonder why God didn’t do a better job.
Two things can help us understand what Genesis is telling us. One is that, even though we now drive cars instead of riding camels, and we live in nice houses instead of tents, humans have not changed since the beginning. We are just as sinful as we’ve always been, and model families are still hard to find – and usually the exception. We can take some comfort in knowing that what we see in the headlines is nothing new, and things will not change unless we each change ourselves. With God’s help we could be so much better—we could be what He created us to be—if we would lay aside our pride and self-centeredness and focus on Him.
The second thing to understand is that, in spite of all the death and despair, the people who turn to God find Him, and He helps them. That doesn’t mean their lives and their families suddenly became wonderful. Ultimately, however, being on God’s side is better than the alternative (Sodom and Gomorrah are a great example of that).
What we discover about God is He never changes. God takes our sins and uses them for something good—in the end. Joseph even said to his brothers who sold him into slavery: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives”—Genesis 50:20.
Yes, it’s an awful world out there at times, but know for sure that God is in control. God is constantly using all things for good. He is ready to work in our lives in ways only He can to change us for the better, and to bless and encourage us.
In your prayer time, ask God to help you see how He is constantly at work in this world, even when current situations may not seem like it. Ask God to help you love and trust Him, so you can let go of your pride and self-centeredness, and live a life that glorifies Him.
Romans 8:28—“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.”
