God's Mercy in the Chaos

It's hard to see it in the moment. When evil is threatening, when life seems out of control… where is the hand of God at work? Did he leave? Does he care?  Keep Reading...

Genesis 45:5-7 - And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Certainly Joseph would have felt abandoned. He spent years as a hated brother, a slave and then a prisoner. He knew the wickedness of false accusation and the pain of being a prisoner. Genesis 40:15 There was no real end in sight for the suffering in Joseph's life.

Yet we never see Joseph turning against God. He never points the finger with accusation against God who "allows" such evil. Instead, Joseph recognizes that God was still at work turning the evil of his brothers and Egypt for the good. Romans 8:28 He saw the hand of God in the midst of the chaos.

God doesn't create the chaos. But he works in the midst of it. In the beginning God left Adam and Eve with a choice - to obey or rebel. They chose, along with every human after them, to rebel against the most loving Father. It is this sin that causes the chaos. Humanity's sin has had devastating effects on all of creation. This is the world we now live in - a tangled web of broken relationships and systems.

God has never turned his back on you. He chooses to stay engaged. Instead of running from the sight of evil, he rushes into the chaos and continually sacrifices on your behalf (most notably with Jesus - Romans 5:6-8). Today, he stays involved. He shows his mercy day by day.

Will you stop and look for God's hand of mercy in your life? He is not the one who created the problems and chaos. But he is definitely at work redeeming the worst situations and bringing hope. Look for him and give him your thanks.