The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. ~Ecclesiastes 7:8
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” ~Genesis 50:18-20
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ~Romans 12:17-19
“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11-12
Thanks to Shakespeare, a more modern way of saying this proverb from the Teacher is, “All’s well that ends well.” I suppose that is true, but that doesn’t make the rough beginning, or the rough ride in the middle easy to bear if you don’t know that it will end well at the outset, and sometimes even if you if do know the end. If we could really believe that everything we go through, though admittedly not pleasant, is intended from our creator for our good, what a difference it would make in our attitude as we walk through it!
The challenge for us is, believing it. I’m sure that if you had told Joseph at the point at which his brothers sold him into slavery, “Hey guy, buck up! This is for your good!” He wouldn’t have believed it. Yet, after everything; the false accusations, the dreams, the rise to power, he is finally able to admit that it was a good thing, even though it didn’t start out well and he wouldn’t have believed you if you had said it then.
It is a real act of trust in the Lord to be able to say, in the middle of the worst of circumstances, “This is for my good.” It’s more usual for us to ask, “Why?” or doubt, or to worry about getting through whatever we are facing at all. There is a line in a popular Christian contemporary song that says: “I know you’re good, but this don’t feel good right now.”
Even Jesus could agree with that statement. When He was praying in the garden, He knew what was coming and that prompted Him to ask: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You Will.” (Matthew 26:39) Jesus knew He was headed into intense suffering, but He also knew that the end would definitely be better than the beginning.
Jesus believed the 50:20 principle that: “God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” And we, as beneficiaries are so grateful that He saw it through. Jesus was able to bear his suffering because he did know it would end well. Hebrews 12:2 reveals how he did it: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
So, by now, you’ve probably figured out that the “50:20” principle refers to Joseph’s reassurance to his brothers when they were afraid that, “now that our Father is gone, Joseph is probably going to exact revenge on us for what we did to him.” Joseph, however, didn’t do that. He left it in God’s hands if there was any avenging to be done. Joseph chose to be patient and loving rather than assert his pride over the situation. He kept the bigger picture in view. He formulated the 50:20 principle.
To paraphrase his thinking, “Somebody was going to have to provide for the family so God sent me ahead to do it. Yes, what happened to me was hard to go through, but I am more dependent on God than ever and thus a better man for it. I’m not going to waste my time in vengeance and pay back. I’m going to do what I can to care for the family. That must be what I was sent ahead to do.”
When Jeremiah told the people in exile that God’s plans for them were to prosper them and not to harm them, to give them hope and a future, they would have found that as hard to believe as Joseph would have found it hard to believe in the beginning of his suffering. The people in exile thought that they were the ones being punished for the sin of the nation of Judah, but Jeremiah knew, as they would come to understand, that they were actually the protected ones that God was keeping safe so that after their time in Babylon, they could return and rebuild, not only the temple, but establish wholehearted worship of their Lord.
The end of the matter would be better than its beginning. In the beginning, they would be torn away from home and everything familiar, but in the end, they would be the preserved seed of a stronger faith. The Babylonians had intended the mistreatment of the Jews for evil, but God intended it to bring the Jewish people back to Himself.
We too may be the victims of someone with evil intent from time to time. We don’t understand why God allows things to happen to us when we can’t figure out what we have done wrong. As a child of God, cling to the “50:20” principle that, yes, an action was intended for evil, but God has a different purpose in mind and it’s for your good.
Be patient. Don’t be distracted by thoughts of vengeance. God has that under control as well. Know, that your Heavenly Father has good plans for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. It may not be in this life. It would be nice if it were but try not to dwell on that. Just remember, you have eternity to enjoy the good future that the Lord has planned for those who trust in Him.
Prayer: Father, thank you for being the author and perfecter of faith. You are why I can believe and trust that my end will be good, because that is your purpose. Use me Lord for the saving of many lives and I can put up with anything! All’s well that ends well, because of You! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: All Things
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