We live in a world where the word “good” is thrown around so casually that it often loses its meaning. A meal can be good. A movie can be good. Even a day can be called good—if it’s sunny, if everything goes our way, if we feel comfortable and successful. But what do we say when our lives are unraveling? What do we say when we are betrayed by those closest to us? What do we say when we face chronic illness, or financial collapse, or unimaginable grief?
Would we still call God “good”?
Genesis 50:20 confronts that very question—not in abstract philosophy or doctrinal theory, but in the gritty, lived-out experience of Joseph, a man who was mistreated, misunderstood, falsely accused, forgotten, and afflicted—all while walking in obedience.
And yet, Joseph says this:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
This is not just the resolution to Joseph’s personal story. It is a theological window into God’s sovereign purposes in a broken world. It teaches us that God is not merely doing good things in spite of evil—He is working through evil to accomplish His good purposes. That’s a mystery we must bow before, not debate.
Christian theology has long affirmed the sovereignty of God over every molecule in the universe (cf. Hebrews 1:3).
Hebrews 1:3 ESV
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
As R.C. Sproul famously said:
“If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.”
And yet, even as we cling to this truth intellectually, our hearts often wrestle with it emotionally. How can we reconcile the sovereignty of God with the evil intentions of men? How can we affirm that God is good when our circumstances feel anything but?
The answer lies not in shallow platitudes or sentimental slogans. It lies in a deep understanding of who God is, what He has revealed in His Word, and how He has acted throughout redemptive history. Genesis 50:20 is one of the clearest, most profound statements in all of Scripture on the compatibility of God’s sovereign will and human moral responsibility.
So today, we will not try to redefine “good” to suit our comfort. Instead, we will let God define good—a good that is wiser, deeper, more redemptive than we could ever imagine.
We’ll consider three truths:
God is sovereign over evil, but never the author of it.
God’s good is redemptive, not always comfortable.
God’s good is bigger than just you.
Each of these truths will challenge us. But if we receive them, they will also comfort us with a sovereignty that holds—not just the world—but our lives, our wounds, our stories, and our suffering—in His sovereign and nail-scarred hands.
God is Sovereign Over Evil, But Never the
of It
At the heart of Joseph’s statement in Genesis 50:20 is a stunning truth: the same event—the betrayal of Joseph—was simultaneously meant for evil by his brothers and meant for good by God. Two intentions. One act. Human sin and divine sovereignty meet without contradiction. This affirms a foundational truth of Reformed theology: God ordains all things that come to pass, yet He is not the author of sin.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” — Genesis 50:20
This truth invites both reverence and rest. God is not reacting to evil; He is reigning over it. He does not merely allow evil; He wields it—without Himself being evil.
Human Responsibility is
Joseph does not excuse his brothers. He names their actions clearly: “you meant evil.” Their motives were malicious. Their actions were sinful. And they are morally responsible.
James 1:14 ESV
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Isaiah 5:20 ESV
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
Christian theology maintains this balance. Man’s will is in bondage to sin (Romans 3:10–18), but man still chooses freely according to his nature. Joseph’s brothers were not robots; they acted out of jealousy, hatred, and selfish ambition. The sin was real. The guilt was real. And God held them accountable.
Imagine a man deliberately pushing someone into a pit. His intent is to harm. He is responsible. But now imagine that the pit was a place of refuge during an unexpected storm. The one pushed is spared from danger. The man’s intent was evil, but the outcome was life-saving. The good outcome doesn’t cancel the evil intent—it reveals a higher purpose at work.
Likewise, in Acts 2:23 we read:
Acts 2:23 ESV
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
The crucifixion was both God’s plan and man’s crime. The most evil act in history—the murder of the Son of God—was the very means God used to save sinners.
This is not contradiction. This is providence.
God Never Loses
In the darkest hours of Joseph’s life—when he was betrayed by his family, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, forgotten in prison—God was not absent. He was actively orchestrating events for a redemptive end.
Genesis 39:21 ESV
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Psalm 76:10 ESV
Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
Psalm 115:3 ESV
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
God is not a cosmic janitor, sweeping up after man’s mess. He is a sovereign architect, working through the mess. What appears chaotic to us is coherent to Him.
Illustration:
Charles Spurgeon once said: “God is too good to be unkind and too wise to be mistaken. And when you cannot trace His hand, you must trust His heart.”
Joseph could not have understood all the reasons he was sold into slavery at seventeen. But at fifty, he could look back and say, “God meant it for good.”
This is not fatalism. This is fatherly sovereignty. God never sins, but He is never sinned against in vain.
Man’s evil is real and morally accountable. God doesn’t excuse it.
God’s sovereignty is total and wise. He doesn’t merely permit sin—He ordains it for a greater purpose, without being the source of it.
God uses even the worst evils as instruments of redemption.
In the tension between what man means for evil and what God means for good, the believer finds hope, not despair. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty over evil does not lead to resignation—it leads to worship.
God’s Good is Redemptive, Not
Genesis 50:20 does not say, “God turned evil into good,” as though God were a cosmic repairman scrambling to fix what sin has broken. It says, “God meant it for good.” The Hebrew verb ḥašav (חָשַׁב) used here for “meant” is the same word for “weave” or “plan.” This is not accidental good. This is intentional, sovereign, redemptive good.
But here’s the challenge: God’s definition of good often conflicts with ours. We want ease; He wants endurance. We want comfort; He wants Christlikeness. We want deliverance from pain; He wants deeper holiness.
Joseph’s life teaches us that the good God is working is not first about pleasant outcomes but about redemptive purposes—both in our own hearts and in the lives of others.
God’s “Good” is
The New Testament counterpart to Genesis 50:20 is Romans 8:28:
Romans 8:28 ESV
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
But what does “good” mean here? Verse 29 tells us:
Romans 8:29 ESV
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
The “good” that God is always working toward is not worldly success, emotional tranquility, or circumstantial relief—but Christlikeness. That is the highest good for every believer. And often, that good comes through the fire.
Joseph’s pit led to Potiphar’s house. Potiphar’s house led to prison. Prison led to Pharaoh’s palace. But more importantly, suffering led Joseph to humility, wisdom, mercy, and maturity—marks of a man being formed into the image of God.
Hebrews 12:6 ESV
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Hebrews 12:10 ESV
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
Illustration:
Think of Michelangelo sculpting David. When asked how he carved such beauty from stone, he reportedly said, “I just chipped away everything that wasn’t David.” That’s what God does with us. He takes the hammer and chisel of affliction and chips away everything that doesn’t look like Jesus.
Our comfort may scream in protest, but our sanctification rejoices, because the Father only disciplines those He loves.
God’s Good Often
We must not fall into the lie that if God is good, our lives will always feel good. Scripture testifies over and over that God’s goodness is most clearly seen in the crucible of suffering.
Psalm 119:67 ESV
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.
Psalm 119:71 ESV
It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.
2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
Affliction is not a detour in the Christian life—it’s part of God’s ordained path.
Joseph didn’t just suffer; he was sustained. In every trial, Scripture says, “The Lord was with Joseph.” God did not abandon him in the pit, in the prison, or in the palace. And He won’t abandon us either.
John Newton’s insight:
“Everything is needful that He sends; nothing can be needful that He withholds.”
Even suffering is needful if it brings us to Christ, humbles our pride, kills our idols, or loosens our grip on this world.
God’s good is not defined by ease or success but by Christlikeness.
Suffering is not accidental—it is a sanctifying tool in the hands of a wise Father.
The path to glory often runs through affliction, but God is with us at every step.
When you are in the valley, don’t judge God’s goodness by your feelings. Judge it by the cross, where the greatest evil became the greatest good. And take heart: if God can turn Calvary into salvation, He can surely turn your pain into purpose.
God’s Good is
Than Just You
Genesis 50:20 reveals not only that God redeems personal suffering, but that He uses it to accomplish purposes far greater than we can imagine. Joseph says:
“…God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Joseph’s affliction was not only for his sanctification—it was for the salvation of nations. Egypt was spared from famine. His own family—the future tribes of Israel—were preserved. The promised seed (Genesis 3:15) carried through the line of Judah survived because one man suffered unjustly and believed that God was doing something bigger than his personal deliverance.
God Uses Your Suffering to
God often allows our pain not merely to shape us, but to position us—so that others may benefit through our witness, our endurance, our story, or our faithfulness.
2 Timothy 2:10 ESV
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Joseph didn’t see the famine coming. He didn’t understand the weight of his role in preserving the covenant line. But God did. And in the same way, we rarely see the full scope of what God is doing through our trials.
Your trial may be the soil for someone else’s salvation. Your faith in the fire may be the testimony that leads someone to Christ. Your loss may equip you to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3–4).
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Your diagnosis may open doors to witness to nurses and doctors. Your broken marriage may become a beacon of grace for struggling couples. Your financial hardship may teach others that Christ is enough.
Illustration:
Think of Elisabeth Elliot. Her husband, Jim Elliot, was speared to death by the very people he was trying to reach with the gospel. She later returned to live among those same people and lead many to Christ. What seemed like senseless loss was strategic redemption. Jim’s death ignited a global missions movement. God’s “good” was not just for Elisabeth—it was for generations.
The Ultimate Good Is the
Joseph is not just a moral example—he is a type of Christ. He was rejected by his brothers, sold for silver, falsely accused, unjustly punished, and exalted to a position of power where he became the savior of those who betrayed him. Sound familiar?
“You meant evil… God meant it for good.”
—Joseph in Genesis 50:20
“You crucified and killed [Jesus]… but God raised him up.”
—Peter in Acts 2:23-24
The cross is the ultimate Genesis 50:20 moment. The greatest act of injustice became the greatest act of redemption. What wicked men meant for evil—murdering the Son of God—God meant for the eternal good of His elect. Christ bore wrath to give us righteousness. He was crushed so we could be reconciled.
The lesson? If God can use the worst evil in history for the greatest good in eternity, then He can use your pain, too.
Lesson: When you’re betrayed, when others plot against you—Good. God can use even the most painful betrayals to advance His purpose. Trust that He’s working behind the scenes.
Lesson: When you’re knocked down—Good. It’s an opportunity to build new skills, learn humility, and trust that God’s hand is with you, even in the lowest of places.
Lesson: Falsely accused? Wronged unjustly? Good. This could be the very detour that brings you closer to the next step in God’s plan for your life.
Lesson: When it feels like your prayers aren’t being answered—Good. Waiting is preparation. God’s delays are never His denials. Trust His timing.
Lesson: When success finally comes—Good. But remember, success is not just for you. It’s for the good of others and for God’s glory. Joseph used his power not for revenge, but for the preservation of life. In the same way, when God brings you through trials, your testimony can become a lifeline for others.
The “good” in Joseph’s life was not just personal success. It was the unfolding of God’s sovereign plan. Joseph’s rise to power was essential for the survival of his family, the continuation of the line of Israel, and ultimately, the coming of the Messiah. Through all the evil intended against him, God was working for a much greater good.
This echoes Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Conclusion: A “Good” Mindset in Every Situation
From the pit to the palace, Joseph’s life embodies the “Good” mindset that Paul speaks of. Every setback, every trial, every moment of suffering was part of God’s greater plan for good.
In your own life, when adversity strikes, remember Joseph’s story. When betrayal comes—Good. When you’re knocked down—Good. When you’re falsely accused—Good. When you’re waiting in the dark—Good. God is working in all things for your good and His glory.
Trust in His sovereignty, because as Joseph teaches us, even the worst intentions of others cannot thwart God’s ultimate good plan.