Blinded By Discouragement Series

About 75 years ago, there was a woman named Florence Chadwick who was the 1st woman swim the English Channel BOTH WAYS. Then, in 1952, she decided to swim from Catalina Island, to the shore of California, a distance of about 22 miles. The day she chose to swim turned foggy and chilly as she began her swim and she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam steadily for 15 hours…and then begged to be taken out of water. Her mother was in a boat alongside her and told her that she was close and that she could make it.

Physically and emotionally exhausted, Florence just stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn’t until she was aboard the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half mile away. At a news conference the next day, she said, “All I could see was the fog…. I think if I could have seen shore, I would have made it.” (Randy Alcorn 50 Days of Heaven p.3)

SHE COULD HAVE MADE IT!!! It was only another ½ a mile. But Florence Chadwick didn’t give up because she was NOT strong enough to finish. She gave up because she became discouraged. She couldn’t see the shore so she lost her faith. Her discouragement… blinded her.

In today’s text, we read about a man named Joseph. Joseph had TWO boys and the names he gave them would seem to indicate that he’d gotten discouraged at one point in his life.

One of the boys he named: Manasseh. “Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for God has made me forget all my HARDSHIP and all my father’s house”. And the other “he called Ephraim, ‘For God has made me fruitful in the land of my AFFLICTION.’”

His HARDSHIP… and his AFFLICTION? What’s that all about? What had happened to Joseph that would make him name his kids in that way? Well, it goes back to his youth. He had ten older half-brothers who basically hated him, and they hated him because their dad loved Joseph better than them. And even God seemed to like him better…

God gave Joseph 2 dreams that indicated that the older brothers would one day bow down and honor Joseph - and that didn’t go over real well with them. In fact, these brothers became so angry with Joseph that one day they got Joseph off by himself, they threw him in a pit and planned to kill him. But then, along came a caravan of slave traders … and they sold him.

But as a slave in Egypt - things went well for him. That is… until his master’s wife fell in love with him. When he refused her advances, she accused him of attempting to rape her and her husband believed her and threw Joseph in prison.

For about 17 years Joseph was a captive in Egypt - first as a slave, then as a prisoner. In all that time he had no hope of seeing his home or family ever again. And that was HARDSHIP. And that was AFFLICTION. And that was why he named his sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

Now oddly enough – Joseph never seemed to have pity parties. When he was sold into slavery he was the best slave he could be. He was such a good slave that his master put him in charge of everything. Then, when he was in prison, he was the best prisoner he could be and the Warden of the prison made him a trustee.

Almost 1/3rd of the book of Genesis is focused on Joseph’s life but you NEVER read of him being discouraged. Except when we read about him naming his two sons.

It would seem that Joseph had every reason to be discouraged but that didn’t happen. Why not? Why was Joseph able to avoid being filled with dismay and despair? For 17 years he lived as a slave and a prisoner never expecting to see his home and family again. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that. How could Joseph avoid being blinded by discouragement?

The answer is found in our text: Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. "For," he said, "GOD HAS MADE ME FORGET all my hardship and all my father’s house." The name of the second he called Ephraim, "FOR GOD HAS MADE ME FRUITFUL in the land of my affliction." Genesis 41:51-52

Notice what Joseph did! In the midst of difficulties…he focused on God. GOD MADE ME FORGET. GOD MADE ME FRUITFUL.

And Joseph was so connected to God that that was his mindset all through his captivity. For example, in Genesis 39 we read the story of Joseph’s slavery and imprisonment. And in that chapter, we read these words: