Never underestimate what great good God can accomplish through terrible troubles. Joseph thought his life ended when he was delivered into the pit. In the end, he became his family’s deliverer from the pits of death.

That journey led Joseph to declare, *But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive* (Gen. 50:20).

Satan presumed he had won when Jesus was crucified. In reality, it was Jesus who prevailed, because He rose from the dead. Praise the Lord! If Satan had known he was playing to the gallery by pushing those people to crucify Jesus, he would have done otherwise. But he isn’t omniscient; he is a fool.

When persecution came against the early Church, the Roman Empire expected Christianity to end. On the contrary, Christians were dispersed, and preached the Gospel everywhere they found themselves. Indeed, the early church father, Tertullian, wrote, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

As the Church is being criticised and persecuted, as it has always been, let us remember the declaration of 2 Corinthians 4:7-9: *But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.* Let us always respond with grace, kindness, forgiveness, and generosity as Joseph did, and may we be used mightily by God in this terrible trouble to accomplish God’s great good. Let us always remember that God is working for our good, immediately and ultimately, in all we go through. Hallelujah!

1. Thank God for allowing unpleasant situations in your life, because it is aimed at doing you good.

2. Pray that God will help you to understand the place of His Word in your life.

3. Pray for CAC Babalola Region, our father in the Lord, the Superintendent, and its officers at the various levels, as led by the Spirit of God.