All this week we’re looking at five lessons from the persecuted church regarding how God uses problems and persecutions for our good and His glory. These are lessons that we must teach our kids as they grow up in a youth culture that’s increasingly set against the Gospel and God’s people. Today’s lesson is this: God uses problems and persecutions to protect you. While this might sound completely ridiculous and counter-intuitive, it is true. One great example comes from the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis fifty. Joseph recognizes that being sold into slavery was a blessing. He tells his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Paul Estabrooks from the Open Doors USA ministry to the persecuted church reminds us of this truth we must teach ours kids when he writes, “A problem can be a blessing in disguise when it keeps us from being harmed by something more serious.”