There is a story of a Chicago man who left his dog in his car.
On a hot afternoon surveillance cameras taped the man as he drove up to an Irish pub. He rolled up his windows and locked his dog inside. Then he entered the bar. He didn’t return to his car for nearly two hours! His poor pooch would have surely died from the heat or gone into shock had circumstances not intervened.
About twenty minutes after the dog was left behind, four men approached the vehicle. They spotted a laptop on the front passenger seat. Oblivious to the suffering dog inside, they smashed the front passenger window, grabbed the computer and ran. However, they unwittingly saved the dog by allowing cool air to enter the car. About 90 minutes later the dog’s owner finally returned to his car. He started pitching a fit over the break-in. Only to later realize that it had saved his dog’s life.
Was it a case of divine justice – saving the poor dog and punishing his owner for neglecting him? It makes me wonder. But it was certainly a case of redemptive misfortune.
Redemptive Misfortune:
Something bad bringing about something good.
Over the years I’ve heard many stories of redemptive misfortune. Maybe it’s a person who got injured. During the X-ray the doctors discover cancer. But the cancer is discovered in time to be surgically removed. The injury saved the patient’s life.
The things we curse as unfortunate and nonredeemable accidents become God’s tool for bringing about a greater good.
The story of a truck driver who had cardiac arrest while driving. The resulting crash into the median restarted the driver’s heart.
Or maybe a personal tragedy becomes the launching point for a life of service that benefits thousands of people.
How many other misfortunes are actually blessings in disguise?
The things we curse as unfortunate and nonredeemable accidents become God’s tool for bringing about a greater good.
One of the greatest biblical examples of this is the life of Joseph – recorded in Genesis chapters 37 through 50. Joseph suffered rejection, abandonment, slavery, slander, and imprisonment. But these became God’s means of preparing him to save the civilized world during a world-wide famine.
Many years later, when Joseph confronted those who had wronged him, he told them, “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” (Genesis 50:20, NKJV).
God is in the business of turning curses into blessings (Deuteronomy 23:5) and working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, whenever circumstances frustrate my plans, I get angry and sour in my attitude. O Father in heaven, please teach me to give thanks in all circumstances and to see Your sovereign and loving hand in all my misfortunes. Amen.
