Banana Peels or Bonanzas

 

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good . . . (Genesis 50:20)

 

       I once had in my file a cartoon someone had sent me from The Wall Street Journal showing two thieves coming out of a bank, loot in hand, heading toward their getaway car. It was sitting on blocks, having been stripped by local hoodlums while the thieves were robbing the bank. Whoops! Our best laid plans often go astray. We can’t arrange our lives perfectly.

       The Bible tells the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He worked hard and became head of his master’s household. Soon his abilities brought him to the attention of the king, and he was made administrator of the national food bank in a time of famine. One day his brothers showed up, wanting food. Their lives had been imperfect too. Joseph chose the high road and provided them the help they needed. The evil they had intended—and the hard times he had endured as a result—had nonetheless been converted into something good.

       There are surprises throughout our lives that we can’t possibly foresee—flukes and pitfalls, blue skies and earthquakes, flowers and tidal waves. Doors close and then swing open, and we don’t know why. My e-mail today may contain a beautiful poem from a friend or a destructive virus from a stranger. We do well to take Joseph’s path, to look for the best and highest purpose open to us, whatever may occur.

God doesn’t lay banana peels on the sidewalk or cause the accidents resulting from our stepping on them. Neither does God cause us to scratch off the right numbers on the lottery ticket. Those things just happen. What God does do, however, is to fill our lives with his Spirit, enabling us to meet whatever comes with grace and good will. To do so is to practice the presence of God who intends good for us—and through us—whatever circumstances may come our way.