God Meant it for Good

Happy Thanksgiving from Sanctuary Inn!

We hope you enjoy this week wherever you are with family or friends.

When I think about Thanksgiving, I think of those men and women who in their pursuit for religious freedom, sailed to a place they had never been and they knew very little about. Their ignorance did cost many people their lives, but God sent people to them that saved the lives of many. One of those was the Native American, Squanto.

Would it surprise you that when I think about Squanto and his role in the survival of the Pilgrims, I think of Joseph and his conversation with his brothers recorded in Genesis 50:20,

“And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result and to preserve many people alive.”

We know from Genesis that Joseph was hated by his brothers, sold to slave traders and eventually he ended up in the palace of Pharaoh, second in command of the entire country. And it was from this place of leadership that he was able to implement a plan to store grain that saved the lives of many.

Did you know that Squanto was kidnapped from his coastal home, sold to slave traders, bought by monks (so that they could educate him and eventually make it possible for him to live as a free man) and then ended up in a Christian home in England where he was further taught in the things of God, learned to speak English and was prepared by God to save the lives of many?

While Squanto was living in England, Pilgrims were making their way to the New World where they encountered weather and living conditions that were very foreign to them. Eventually the family with whom Squanto lived paid for his passage so that he could sail back to the home of his childhood – the very place the Pilgrims were trying to survive.

Squanto desperately wanted to be reunited with his family and tribe, but upon his arrival he learned that they had nearly all died from sickness and disease. I can only imagine his sorrow and grief at such a huge loss in his life. As he looked around, he soon realized that the people who were trying to make their new home in this new country were struggling desperately because everything was new and unfamiliar to them.

Despite his grief and loss, Squanto was able to speak to these Pilgrims (in English!) and teach them how to farm and fish in this new place. The early Thanksgiving celebrations were a reminder to the Pilgrims how God had cared for them and sustained the lives of many.

This story echos in the lives of many missionaries as well. They go to new places, experience new things and can often struggle in learning how to cope with their new lives while at the same time process the grief from the loss of all that was familiar to them. Often God will send them a “cultural ambassador” – someone who understands a bit of both worlds and can help them navigate their new place of life and ministry.

As you celebrate this Thanksgiving, we invite you to take some time to pray for the missionaries you know and ask God that they would be especially aware of His presence as they are away from the familiar.

And may we all like Squanto catch glimpses of God’s hand at work in our lives redeeming the pain and suffering in our lives into good–ultimately for His glory.

With gratitude,

Steven Price for the Sanctuary Inn Team
(Director)