The apostle Peter preached: “This man [Jesus Christ] was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.”[8] God arranged for Christ to die on the cross to bring about forgiveness of sins to us all;[9] and not only that, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”[10] God arranged the Christ to suffer before receiving Glory as King.  

Are you feeling your life circumstances out of control? Or are you feeling anxious about the future? Let’s take comfort with Scripture’s most comforting teaching: the Sovereignty of God.

Joseph: men planned evil, but God planned good

Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him, but God used their evil plan for good, to save many lives. God turned around Joseph’s suffering. He had been sold to slavery, falsely accused of adultery, thrown into prison and forgotten while in prison, but he was to be given Pharaoh’s signet ring, dressed in fine robes and a gold chain as Pharaoh’s designated ruler over Egypt, to provide grain to people enduring famine. God arranged all Joseph’s life circumstances, including his suffering, for the saving of many people.

Ruth: the “coincidental” life

God also arranged Ruth’s life, in circumstances we would call ‘coincidences’. Out of all the grain fields in Judah that Ruth could’ve worked in, Ruth just “happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz”. And out of all the times Boaz could’ve arrived back from his trip from Bethlehem, he just happened to arrive when Ruth first started working in his field.

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