God in the Ebb & Flow of Life:
God Is Whispering
Scripture Text: Genesis 41.1-32
INTRODUCTION
In today’s Bible-story, Pharaoh is confused. Although he has not-been sleep-walking, …he has been dreaming! Problem-was, …he didn’t know what the dreams were-all-about!
Joseph helps him with all-that. Joseph was familiar with the landscape of dreams ~ …he’s had his own, …and he’s also helped others understand their-dreams. But, as this chapter of Joseph’s life unfolds, …there’s one-particular-thing he-says that puts all-this-stuff into perspective.
Pharaoh calls-him-in and says that he’s heard that Joseph can interpret-dreams. And here’s what Joseph says:
"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Gen 41.16)
“I cannot… but God will give…” There’s a lot of stuff in this chapter that we could zero-our-attention in-on; …but, I-think what-God-wants us to give-an-ear-to, …is the whispering of God.
BODY
The whispers of God can be heard in a variety of places, ...and in all kinds of circumstances. I think God whispers everyday through the stunning-beauty of sunrises and sunsets. I think that God is whispering to us through the warm-embrace of our spouse, …and in kisses-on-the-forehead by parents. I think God whispers through Christian-songs on the radio; …and in the feeble-attempts of pastors to preach and give-words-of-counsel.
God whispers in all kinds of ways, and at all kinds of times ~ …but-the-thing-about-whispering is that you either sit-up and take-notice, …or it slips-past and you don’t-even-know how it could’ve changed-your-world!
God whispered in this-segment of Joseph’s life ~ …follow-it with me, …if-you-will:
I. God, Whispering in the Stillness
Pharaoh has a dream. Just like the baker and the cup-bearer, last-week ~ …God wanted to speak to him through a dream. So, he had these-two-dreams of fat-and-skinny-cows, …and plump-and-desperate stalks of wheat.
Frued might want to explore Joseph’s relationship with his mother; …other-psychologists might want to investigate his feelings of weakness and diminishing-power ~ ...but-Joseph recognized that Pharaoh’s dreams were not-so-much-about-him, …as they were about God and what God was going to do.
When you look at the timing-and-method of how God spoke to Pharaoh, …you see that God is whispering in the stillness. Sleeping. Resting. Quiet. Maybe God chose this time because Pharaoh wasn’t distracted with the business of running his empire. Maybe God chose to do-this through a dream because Pharaoh’s mind was stilled from plotting-and-planning the next-big-move. Maybe God chose to speak to Pharaoh in the stillness of the night because He knew that Pharaoh would be more likely to hear ~ …but-whatever-the-reason for God choosing to speak to Pharaoh in dreams, the fact-is that in-the-stillness-of-Pharaoh’s-dreams, …God whispered.
There couldn’t-have-been a more “ordinary” time! Every-day, …we experience night-time Every-day, …we lay-our-heads on-the-pillow. Every-day, …we have an opportunity to shut-out the busyness and to quiet-the-demanding-voices ~ …every-day we have the stillness of night, …and sleep, …and the possibility of dreams.
There couldn’t-have-been a more “ordinary” time for God to speak to Pharaoh. But, even in the ordinary, …we can still miss it. We can overlook, …or dismiss God’s Voice. Whether it’s the beauty of the sunset, …or the voice-of-conscience ~ …we can overlook or ignore God’s Voice.
Maybe we’ve heard it before ~ …and we don’t want to hear it again. Maybe we’re surprised by it ~ …and we’re afraid of what it might mean. Maybe we’re just set in our ways ~ …and don’t wanna be interrupted.
But, God whispers. He whispers in moments of stillness ~ just-like, when he spoke to Pharaoh through dreams…
And-although Pharaoh didn’t completely get-it, …he listened. He paid-attention. He realized that he needed to find someone to help him understand the whispers. When God whispers, You might be taken-by-surprise; You might be startled; You may not fully-understand. When God whispers, …don’t be afraid to listen, …don’t-be-afraid to ask others for help.
God whispered to Pharaoh through dreams, …and Pharaoh listened ~ …and that’s-how Joseph enters-the-story.
II. God, Whispering in the Darkness
God doesn’t-just whisper in the stillness; …but God also whispers in the darkness.
We’ve followed Joseph’s journey. He was seventeen when we met him ~ …tattling on his older-brothers. Joseph: …favored son, …alienated-brother, …loved-and-hated, …betrayed-and-enslaved, …hard-worker and fall-guy ~ …Joseph’s life has been something-of-a-roller-coaster. But, at this particular point in his life, …he’s been in prison for quite-a-while. How long?... We’re not quite sure. But-we-know that it’s been two-years since he interpreted the cup-bearer’s dream and asked him to do something to help him get out of prison. Two years of waiting. Two years of toiling away in a dungeon. Two years of being forgotten. Joseph has been living in a very “dark” time. The clouds have hung low; …there’s been very-little to celebrate.
But-still, God is whispering. Many-years-before, …God gave Joseph a dream: …a dream about stalks of wheat bowing down; …a dream about the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him ~ …God was whispering through those dreams, …telling Joseph what-would-be.
And-although we cannot-say that God intended for Joseph to endure betrayal, …and slavery, …and false-accusations, …and imprisonment, …and being-forgotten ~ …what-we-can say is that God whispered through the dream to tell Joseph what-would-be.
Circumstances may bring a lot of darkness into life. Circumstances may cloud optimistic-skies. Circumstances may usher in periods of darkness. But God has whispered. And the echoes of that whisper continue to resound ~ …ever-so subtly; …oh-so-easily overlooked. But, God is still whispering in the darkness of Joseph’s life-circumstances.
And-now, the whisper comes in the form of an invitation to come-before-Pharaoh. Joseph doesn’t know why he’s been called. He doesn’t know what-the-purpose of his meeting-with-Pharaoh would-be. But, God is whispering, …opening doors, …creating an opportunity for Joseph to let the light-of-God shine ~ …an opportunity for Joseph to allow God to speak through him!
God whispers. He whispers in times-of-darkness ~ just-like, when Joseph sat in a prison-cell and then heard the warden call-his-name…
And-although Joseph didn’t-completely know-what-was-up, …he listened. He got up; …shaved; …got-ready for the opportunity that God had-opened-the-door-to.
When God whispers, You might be in the pit-of-despair; You might be sulking over how badly things are going; You may feel forgotten and alone. When God whispers, …don’t let the darkness-of-circumstances cloud-out the beacon-of-hope that comes when God whispers!
CONCLUSION
I do pray each week that sermons are never about “me”; …but-that God uses these-times to plant a new thought, …open a new window, …speak a new word in your heart-and-life. And-so, while sermons might include personal-stories, …and personal-thoughts, …I hope-and-pray that through-it-all, you hear God whispering!
In the Gospels, …Jesus often says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”; …in the Revelation, …Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” ~ …God whispers.
I know that we all want God to reveal himself to us ~ …we want to know what God’s will is; …we wanna know that God is with us; …we’d love nothin’-more than for God to show-up and help us with whatever-it-is that’s got us confused/down/hurting/lost.
But-the-thing-is, …we tend to think that if God’s gonna-show-up, …the ground-is-gonna-shake, …and the mountains-are-gonna-quake ~ …for God’s Voice is booming!... Kinda-like when the children of Israel were at the foot of Mt. Sinai ~ …and Moses went up-the-mountain, …and a cloud enveloped the mountain-top ~ …and flashes of lighting radiated from the cloud; …and as-God-spoke to Moses, His Voice could be heard like booming-thunder by the people down-below.
Or-maybe, …we kinda expect God to show-up like He did for Moses: …in a burning-bush ~ …out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere, …unmistakably gettin’ our attention with some supe-natural-phenomenon.
Or-maybe, …we kinda-expect God to show-up like He did for Nicodemus: …Jesus was on a walk, …and he passed right-under the tree that good-ole-Nick was sitting in; …and He stopped, …and looked up, …and He told Nicodemus to get-himself-down ‘cause they’re eatin’ lunch together!
I don’t know what your expectations are ~ …of how God will show-up in your life. I-suspect, though, …that most-of-us wish that it would-be-dramatic!
Sometimes God does that ~ …sometimes the veil is torn from top-to-bottom and God shows up in an unmistakable way. And it’s moving, …and dramatic, …and attention-getting, …and amazing.
But, I think that most-of-the-time, …God chooses to whisper! Kinda-like when Elijah was sittin’ in a cave… And a great-and-powerful wind tore through the place that he was hiding; …and following the wind-storm, …there was an earthquake ~ …and the ground shook all-‘round; …and then-came lightning-flashing and fire ~ …But in all the dramatic-stuff that took-place (the wind and the quaking and the flashes-of-fire) ~ …in all-that-stuff, …the Bible says, “the Lord was not in it”!
But, the Bible says that after the wind and the earthquake and the lightning, …the Bible says that Elijah then-heard a “gentle whisper”; …and “when Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” It-was in the gentle-whisper that Elijah heard the Voice of God speak to him.
I’m kinda thinkin’ that God, most-of-the-time whispers through gentle, quiet-times ~ …and-that the dramatic-hoopla-occasions are the exception. The Psalms, …Job, …the prophets, …Jesus ~ …all speak about the whispers of God.
And-so, Don’t-ya-think that God still speaks through whispers? Do-ya-think that He comes-to-us gently, quietly, …aching-to-get-our-attention, …but not wanting to bull-doze-over-us!?! When we’re grieving, …because we’ve lost someone that we deeply-loved ~ …God is whispering. When we’re confused, …and we don’t-know which-way-to-go ~ …God is whispering. When we’re aimless-and-lost, …and we think that everything is pointless-and-meaningless ~ …God is whispering. When we’re starin’-in-the-face of some big-obstacle, …or some-huge-deal, …or some-intimidating, threatening-circumstance, …and our hearts are afraid, …God is whispering.
And what do ya think God is saying to you?
He’s saying the same things that He’s been saying for a very-long-time: “I love you; “I am with you; “The future is in good hands; “You are not alone; “You don’t have to do this all-by-yourself; “Trust me; “Let me wipe-the-slate-clean and restore your heart; “Take my hand; “Let me worry-about where to go-from-here; “I’ll always be here for you!”
God is whispering… And I know that some of us desperately want to hear from Him. You’ve got stuff goin’ on in your life that has you feelin’ like the rug-has-been-pulled-out from-under-you. Others got blind-sided, this-week, …with unexpected-news. Still-others have big questions that are looming: …is my health o.k., …will I have a job next week, …is my family gonna-weather-this-storm, …will my friend choose the right-thing?... And we’re waiting-and-watching and-wondering; …but, are we listening? ~ God is whispering. Do you have ears to hear?
