Bubble Wrap

Bubble Wrap

Bible Blast: Read Genesis 50:14-21

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:20

Getting a package in the mail is a total blast—especially when whatever is in the box is surrounded with bubble wrap! It’s a wonderful feeling to get a sheet of unused bubble wrap so you can just start pop, pop, popping away at those little bubbles.

Did you know when Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding invented bubble wrap, they weren’t trying to make packaging materials? It’s true. They were trying to invent a plastic wallpaper so it would be easy to clean. The wallpaper idea didn’t take off, but the idea of using this bubbly paper as a cushion for packing fragile things sure did! And now we can have the fun of making joyful popping sounds with bubble wrap. Isn’t it funny how what Marc and Al meant for wallpaper ended up being meant for packing materials?

The background to today’s Bible Blast is that Joseph’s brothers had done everything they could to get rid of him, including selling him as a slave. Through a series of events and Joseph’s trust in the Lord, he actually became Pharaoh’s right-hand man! So when Joseph’s brothers came to him, expecting him to be really, really mad, they were of course shocked to hear his response to their groveling: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.”

Have you ever heard the phrase “God works in mysterious ways”? In Joseph’s case that’s totally true. God took a situation that was meant for evil and changed its purpose to bring good.