"Everything is Against Me"

Genesis 42:18-43:34

Two verses in the Bible appear to be virtual opposites.  One is from our passage today and the other is from the book of Romans in the New Testament.

In Genesis 42:36, Jacob cries out in distress concerning his family, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!" 

Romans 8:28 states, "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."

Jacob was in a bad place.  It looked to him like everything -- EVERYTHING -- was working against him.  He thought Joseph, his favorite, was dead.  He gave up on Simeon because of the imprisonment in Egypt.  He despaired because of the demand for Benjamin that, in his mind, would probably result in the loss of that son too.  It seemed to be more than he could take.

The fact is that at that very moment, God was orchestrating the entire set of circumstances FOR JACOB'S BENEFIT!  Joseph wasn't dead, but instead was a magnificently successful ruler in Egypt, who had been sent there for the preservation of Jacob's family!  Jacob said that Simeon "was no more" as if Simeon too were dead.  He wasn't.  Sure he was in "prison" in Egypt, but it is highly likely it was no more than "house arrest" and Simeon wasn't being flogged every day.  Concerning Benjamin, Jacob was far from losing his youngest son.  Everything was NOT against Jacob.  But it sure seemed so to him.

In fact, Romans 8:28 was at work.  God was working IN JACOB'S BEHALF.  God was arranging all pieces of the puzzle for good not bad.  Romans 8:28 teaches us that God is secretly working ALL THINGS for good to those He was chosen -- to those called according to His purposes. 

And so it is with you.  In our darkest hours, it may seem that the entire world is organized to defeat us.  The opposite is actually true.  God is bending history to produce a beautiful bride.  If you know Jesus, you are a part of that bride.  All the events of history bow to the overarching purpose of God.  And that goes right down to your particular, personal life.  He loves us and works in our behalf -- even when we don't know it.