One of my seminary professors had a saying: "God can write straight with a crooked stick!"
By this he meant that God can take even wicked intentions and evil circumstances and bring something good out of them. A case in point is Joseph. There is no doubt that Joseph's brothers caused him anguish. Betraying him and selling him into slavery could have made him bitter for life. Joseph had endured separation from his homeland and his father, and even was thrown unjustly into prison for years in Egypt, all because of his brothers' jealousy.
That is why, when their father Israel died, his brothers grow worried that their past deeds will be visited upon their heads. Maybe Joseph will exact his revenge now that it is just the twelve of them. They gather around Joseph and claim, "Guess what? Right before he died, Dad said you need to forgive all of us!" (Truax paraphrase)
Joseph once again shows his spiritual maturity and his character by discharging their debt to him. He forgives his brothers. He wisely observes, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good" (vs. 20 NLT). It wasn't God who had done evil to Joseph, but God was able to redeem his misfortune for God's own glory. In time, Joseph came to see how God had used him for the good of his family and all of Egypt, saving them in the face of a terrible famine.
Whatever rough stuff you may go through in life (and maybe you're even going through some rough stuff right now) leave room for God to redeem it. He can take even the evil and the wrong that this world throws at us and use it for His glory.
My old seminar professor was right. God can write straight with a crooked stick!
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