Genesis 50:20 – But, as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
We’ve all heard the saying one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This becomes reality when we discard material things we don’t want because it’s out of date, broken, in the way, or other reasons. Crafters and DIYers love this. They shop at thrift stores, garage sales, dumpsters, and even peoples garbage. They see potential out of things others don’t. One person’s trash can unfortunately also refer to a person like an ex-spouse, an ex-convict, an addict, prostitute, or any other person we have considered a less than acceptable type. We all have secrets, prior behaviors and lifestyles or ideals that are hopefully in our past. Things we don’t want to talk about for fear of being judged and ostracized. But we don’t think about this while we are busy turning our noses up at others.
This kind of thing happened to many people in the bible. But this particular verse is about Jacob’s son Joseph. His siblings treated him terribly because of jealousy. And we know the story about this. The bible doesn’t say that Joseph had lived any unacceptable way that was considered sinful. But he lived a visible life that all could see. Joseph didn’t hide the things he went through. We in our current times have made some decisions in our lives that we sometimes wish we could go back and have a do over. But The Bible says we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Satan doesn’t want us to overcome. He constantly tries to remind us of the wrongs that we have done. But revealing our old past to others may just be the thing that turns their life into a treasure for the Kingdom. Don’t hide the less than acceptable parts of our lives. Let others know they can overcome and come out of the trash and become the treasure that God created them to be. And this only happens when we repent of the old and turn our lives completely over to God. He will use our trashy lives as a living testimony to others that it is possible to be washed clean and be made into a completely new vessel. We can’t go back to the past and change things. But we can get a do over for the present and future by witnessing how someone else made it through. So don’t hide your trash. But don’t just throw it out anywhere. Ask God what “thrift store” He wants it given to. It may be at a church, a hospital, at work, at the grocery store, or even a family gathering. All of these places hold people who need to see the treasure you have become. Then wait for the presentation to be revealed.
Father: Thank you for how you have gifted us with free will and choice. Even though we mostly choose to do things the wrong way, You always make a way to use it for Your good
when we surrender to You. Thank you for loving us that much. Help us to let our testimony, light and life shine for others to see You, seek You and accept You. Amen