As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20 ESV)
There’s an old Negro spiritual, “Let Jesus Fix It for You,” that I use to hear my late Uncle Shorty (Rennie Lee Daniels) sing. Hearing this so much as a young child, I did not understand what he and many others were singing about. As believers, we know that experience is a “great teacher;” therefore, I learned during my adult life what they were singing about.
The original author of this song was Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933), a pastor and hymn writer, whose father was a slave but his mother was free. Known as a captivating preacher, he authored two hymnals and was able to draw people of multiple races to his church ministry, which blossomed to over 10,000 members (hymnary.org).
Whenever I would hear this song, it was the refrain that I basically recalled, but its meaning is so powerful. There are times in our lives that people say and do things to hurt us, and we sometimes want to strike back, but as believers in Christ, we should not do that. Consequently, there are times when we are going to have to swallow our pride, step back and say, “Let Jesus fix it for me.” I didn’t say that you must be a doormat, but striking with a vengeance can make the situation worse.
A prime example of this is found in the book of Genesis when Joseph’s brothers showed their envy and jealously and did all kinds of evil against Joseph, including a plot to kill him. Because of their evil schemes, Joseph suffered greatly, but oh, the beautiful end result for him: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (50:20 ESV).
When others do you wrong, just pray, and leave it in the hands of the Lord. God made us, and He knows us. Further, do not wish evil to come upon someone who has done you and others wrong, for the Lord said, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.” (Deuteronomy 32:35 NLT)
When you wish or perpetrate evil upon others, it has a way of coming back to you because it is wrong. “If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.” (Proverbs 26:27 NLT) Therefore, “Let Jesus Fix It for You!”
As I conclude, I am going to share a personal story.
About two decades ago, one of my sons became very ill. He was in and out of the hospital in town and in Charleston. I even took him to Johns Hopkins for a second opinion.
One day I heard that a lady, I thought I knew very well, allegedly said, “That’s good for Anna…!” The person to whom she allegedly told this did not know about my child’s situation, along with the other things that were said. All I could say to myself was why is that this lady so glad my child is sick. How could she have said that?
We would see and talk to each other at various church services. I chose not to confront her because my mother told me to leave it alone and pray about it. Further, I did not hear her say this evil, so I took my mother’s advice.
(Anna Bright is a retired educator and minister in Walterboro. She can be reached at abrightcolumn@lowcountry.com)
