God Will Use This for Good: Surviving the Mess of Life

by Max Lucado

Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won’t you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed and pain. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger. We ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.

“You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don’t be foolish or naive. But don’t despair either. With God’s help you will get through this.”

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (Genesis 50:20 NASB)

And God, the Master Builder. This is the meaning behind Joseph’s words “God meant it for good in order to bring about . . .”2

God as Master Weaver, Master Builder. He redeemed the story of Joseph. Can’t he redeem your story as well?

You’ll get through this. You fear you won’t. We all do. We fear that the depression will never lift, the yelling will never stop, the pain will never leave. Here in the pits, surrounded by steep walls and angry brothers, we wonder, Will this gray sky ever brighten? This load ever lighten? We feel stuck, trapped, locked in. Predestined for failure. Will we ever exit this pit?

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. (Isa. 43:2)1

Does God guarantee the absence of struggle and the abundance of strength? Not in this life. But he does pledge to reweave your pain for a higher purpose.

How long will God take with you? He may take his time. His history is redeemed not in minutes but in lifetimes.

But God will use your mess for good. We see a perfect mess; God sees a perfect chance to train, test, and teach the future prime minister. We see a prison; God sees a kiln. We see famine; God sees the relocation of his chosen lineage. We call it Egypt; God calls it protective custody, where the sons of Jacob can escape barbaric Canaan and multiply abundantly in peace. We see Satan’s tricks and ploys. God sees Satan tripped and foiled.

Let me be clear. You are a version of Joseph in your generation. You represent a challenge to Satan’s plan. You carry something of God within you, something noble and holy, something the world needs—wisdom, kindness, mercy, sk...

The story of Joseph is in the Bible for this reason: to teach you to trust God to trump evil. What Satan intends for evil, God, the Master Weav...

We equate spirituality with high drama: Paul raising the dead, Peter healing the sick. Yet for every Paul and Peter, there are a dozen Josephs. Men and women blessed with skills of administration. Steady hands through whom God saves people. Joseph never raised the dead, but he kept people from dying. He never healed the sick, but he kept sickness from spreading. He made a plan and stuck with it. And because he did, the nation survived. He triumphed with a calm, methodical plan.

You can do the same. You can’t control the weather. You aren’t in charge of the economy. You can’t undo the tsunami or unwreck the car, but you can map out a strategy. Remember, God is in this crisis. Ask him to give you an index card–sized plan, two or three steps you can take today.

“They all led their teams with a surprising method of self-control in an out-of-control world.”2

In the end it’s not the flashy and flamboyant who survive. It is those with steady hands and sober minds.

Then again, he may tell you, “I’m with you. I can use this for good. Now let’s make a plan.” Trust him to help you.

Admit. Admit your wrongdoing. Admit that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believe. Believe that Jesus is who he says he is. The Savior of the world. Believe he did what the Bible says he did. He died for your sins and mine. He vacated the grave, and he reigns as Lord over the world. Commit. Commit your life to his cause. Confess your belief privately and publicly. Find a church where you can be baptized, and grow in your faith.

Go to God in prayer and tell him, I am a sinner in need of grace. I believe that Jesus died for me on the cross. I accept your offer of salvation.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ROMANS 8:28

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” JEREMIAH 31:3

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. 2 THESSALONIANS 2:16, 17