Have you ever found yourself in a place you never intended to be,
wondering how you ended up there? Perhaps the question on your mind was more
focused on how you could or even would ever get out of those circumstances? A
cancelled flight? A cancelled job? Divorce court? A hospital room? Where is God
when the circumstances of life are inconvenient? Where is God when your world
comes crashing down around you? The Lower Story of Joseph helps us to trust
God’s Upper Story in such times as these.
Imagine Joseph’s frustration, confusion, and anguish. God revealed
to Joseph in two dreams that he would one day rule over his family, preserving
the covenant community. God’s plan seemed doomed to fail when Joseph’s brothers
sold him into Egyptian slavery. But with the Lord’s favor, Joseph rose to a
position of power in Potiphar’s house. Maybe Joseph’s dream emerged as his
responsibility over Potiphar’s household increased. But with a prison sentence,
that dream seemed once again dashed. God providentially orchestrated events to
arrange for Joseph to rise to become the deputy Pharaoh of the superpower of
the known world. Man’s evil failures would not foil God’s plan.
The story of Joseph is a powerful illustration of God’s control
over human history. God’s divine plan would succeed. He had chosen a covenant
family and in spite of that family’s efforts to destroy God’s elect, God would
still fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant through that very family. God called
Abraham’s family to be the conduit through whom He would bless all nations.
While the ultimate fulfillment would come in Christ, God used Joseph to reveal
Himself as the gracious God of all.
I. Man Fails
A.
Joseph suffered at the hands of many people. It
would seem that his destiny would be determined by everybody but God.
1.
His brothers hated him because God chose young
Joseph to lead the covenant community.
2.
His brothers plotted to kill him, but sold him
into slavery in Egypt instead.
3.
Joseph was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s
wife.
4.
Joseph was imprisoned for the crime he didn’t
commit.
5.
Joseph was disappointed by the prisoner who
forgot him.
B.
Where is God while Joseph is suffering?
II. God’s Plan Prevails ~ God’s sovereign fingerprints were all over Joseph’s life! And
Joseph knew it in the end.
A.
God revealed Himself and His plan to Joseph in
two dreams. (God’s revelation ALWAYS precedes faith!) B. God prevented Joseph’s death, but allowed him to be sold to Egypt.
C. God providentially put Joseph in Potiphar’s house.
D. God providentially allowed Joseph to go to prison where he would interpret dreams for his fellow prisoner.
E. This prisoner-butler would remember Joseph when Pharaoh needed dreams interpreted.
F. God provided Joseph with prophetic dream interpretations.
G. God used Pharaoh to promote Joseph to deputy in the superpower nation of the world. No other place in the world would have more influence!
H. God fulfilled the prophetic 7 years of plenty.
I. God orchestrated the prophesied famine that forced others to come to Joseph in Egypt, including his own family.
J. Joseph recognized God’s sovereign plan to save both his family and the world through him. His focus on God’s Upper Story gave him the perspective, the “God’s eye view,” to endure the suffering and forgive his brothers.
III. Applications and Implications
A. God is in control. He is sovereign over people and events.
B. While Joseph’s story makes no claims that God will directly intervene in every situation, it does remind us that in the end, God brings good out of every evil.
C. God is more concerned about our holiness than our happiness.
D. Suffering is not necessarily a sign of being outside of God’s will.
E. Our goal through suffering is to remain faithful to our Sovereign God.
F. Faith is the key to endurance.
G. Be aware that God may be training you for something in the future.
H. Be available for faithfulness in what may appear to be the little things.
I. Be prepared to wait.
J. Because God has revealed and fulfilled promises in the past, I can trust Him to fulfill His promises for the future.
K. I might be part of God’s plan for someone else.
L. God’s sovereignty is not a scapegoat for sin.
M. Rest in God’s sovereignty.
