God in the Ebb & Flow of Life:
The Work of God
Scripture Text: Genesis 50.14-21
INTRODUCTION
This week I read a story about former-basketball-coach Bob Knight. Bobby Knight became a stand-out coach with the University-of-Indiana ~ …coaching almost 3-decades, …winning 3 national-championships, …and 11 conference-crowns. …but, …success is not-just-measured in-terms-of the “win-loss” columns! Bobby Knight was fired for bullying a player; …the next seven years were spent at Texas Tech, where he set a basketball-record for victories (902). You’d-think he could coach anywhere, …but his volatile, hot-headed temper causes many-schools to pass! Success is measured in different-ways!
BODY
We’ve come to the final chapter of Joseph’s life - …the last one that we’re gonna-explore. It has been a story of tragedy-and-triumph, …of betrayal and redemption, …of separation and reconciliation, …a story of brokenness and healing.
It has been my hope-and-prayer that we’ve seen God has-been-with him in the ups-and-downs, …in the ebb-and-flow of Joseph’s life.
But, we’ve looked at this ancient-story, …not-just to learn about this-guy who lived a very-long-time-ago; …but, the whole purpose has been to open our eyes to-the-fact that God is with us ~ …even-as He was with Joseph, …all-along-the-wild-roller-coaster we call ‘life’!
Whether we’re dealin’ with the emotional-wreckage that comes when people mis-treat us; …or whether we’re suffering isolation-and-separation from those that once were so-close; …or whether we are surprised by the swift-changes when the tables get-turned ~ …the bottom-line for us is the same-as it was for Joseph: …God is faithful and He goes with His beloved children! Whether you find-yourself in the valley, …or on the mountaintop: …God is with you! And, it’s because He is faithful, …it’s because He goes with us through the different chapters of life, …it’s because you are not alone and you belong to Him …and because the Lord works to bring good out-of whatever you suffer ~ It’s because-of-Him that we can even, ever-hope to take risks, …and to let-go of old-hurts, …and hold-onto hope!
The last-couple-of-weeks, …God has used Joseph’s story to help us see that the choice-to-forgive is sometimes a choice that must-be-made again-and-again! When circumstances change, …when old-memories come-haunting, …when the enemy-of-your-soul lies to-you and says it’s o.k. to hold-onto a grudge, …those are new-opportunities to choose to forgive, …new-occasions to re-affirm that you are not going-to-be bound-up by someone else’s sins-against-you!
We see this played-out in this last-segment of Joseph’s story. Dad is gone. And the brothers fear that Joseph has-been biding-his-time out-of-respect for his “old man”; …they fear that some deeply-buried-grudge will now-surface; …they fear that Joseph may now-unload on them!
And whether Jacob actually-left this-message for Joseph, …or, whether the brothers concocted-it to pressure Joseph to go-easy on-them ~ …we don’t know, for-sure. But, what we do know is that the brothers were absolutely torn-up! They are consumed by their guilt and the awareness of their sins against Joseph. And-because of their guilt-and-brokenness, …they are terrified!
Ya-know, …one-of-the-truest-statements the brothers ever-spoke is found in verse 18:
“We are your slaves,” they say.
Now… They probably said this to appease Joseph and to-avert his hot-wrath. But… How-true it-is that when we sin against someone, …and-when our hearts come to terms with our responsibility (in-the-matter) ~ …isn’t it true that our hearts become chained, …bound, …shackled by the reality of that guilt!?!... In-a-real-sense, …we are no-longer free ~ …and-certainly not-free when it comes to the person we have sinned-against… It’s-as-though sin-and-guilt hand-cuff our hearts, …and there’s no-way to free-ourselves!
But, the wonderful, …amazing, …godly-act of forgiveness is the key to being freed! It’s because Joseph forgives his brothers, that they are freed from the fear that has gripped their hearts. It’s because his brothers seek Joseph’s forgiveness, …that they are freed from the guilt that has burdened their hearts for decades! And because Joseph chooses to forgive, …he is freed from the bondage of anger and resentment and hatred ~ …the cancers that eat-away at the soul, …and bind-our-hearts from being free to-love and to-share the blessings of God.
By-all-accounts, Joseph was a huge-success. He was powerful. He was wealthy. He was highly honored-and-esteemed. But, his ‘greatness’ is not found in his position, …or in the staff-and-ring that signified his-great-power; …his greatness was not manifested in the chariot that he rode through the streets, …or the number of servants that attended his commands; …rather, his greatness is found in the decision to forgive and to have-mercy on his brothers!
TRANSITION
I don’t know if you can relate to this story, or-not. Many, many families carry deep divisions. Maybe you find it hardest to-forgive those who are closest to them ~ …for, it’s-those who are closest to us that potentially can hurt us the deepest!
Can we consider those-that are within our “inner-circle” ~ …those-that are family – …either by birth or by-marriage or by the grace of God? Let’s think-about those that we share a last-name with, ...or a blood-line, …or a house, …or a house-of-worship. And let’s consider those-relationships that are estranged or broken, …unhealthy or un-loving.
Thanksgiving is usually a time when we give thanks for “family”. But, is there something between you and one-of your family-members ~ …something that prevents that-relationship from being an-occasion to offer thanks to God? Do you need to seek forgiveness ~ …like the brothers had to own up to their sinful choices that caused their brother such hurt; Or, do you need to offer forgiveness ~ …like Joseph had to choose-to-forgive all that his brothers had done to him?
When forgiveness-is-sought, …and-when forgiveness is granted, …the healing-of-relationships is a beautiful-thing. And it may-just-be that if God is laying some-somebody on your heart ~ …maybe He wants to make this the time to bring healing to the broken relationships in your life!
One Old Testament teacher says-about Joseph and the “old-history” with his brothers:
“The encounter with the brothers is concluded with ‘comfort’. The issue of guilt has been completely overcome.” (Brueggemann, 377)
How did it happen? Forgiveness sought; …forgiveness granted; …and, …at-least-by-Joseph, …there’s-the-recognition that something much greater has-been-at-work ~ …something-much-greater than the plans of ‘mice-and-men’! Joseph says:
“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Gen 50.19-20)
Isn’t that beautiful!?! And it doesn’t matter whether his brothers see-it, or not ~ …Joseph sees the fingerprints of God in the ebb-and-flow of his life!
Sure… There’s been suffering. Sure… He didn’t deserve what his brothers did to him. Sure… It would’ve been nice to have-lived a nice, peaceful life back in Canaan.
But God brought him through it all; …and God redeemed the evil-intentions of others; …and God rescued Joseph and used him in a mighty-way.
And-so, the bottom-line of this message is this: …whether you are one who needs to seek forgiveness, …or, whether you are the one who was sinned against ~ …no-matter which-boat you find-yourself-in, …choose forgiveness.
You may not feel like-it. But, I recently read some-wise-advice, regarding the dilemma we sometimes wrestle-with ~ …when our heart/feelings/emotions tell us to do one-thing, …while we know that we should go in another-direction:
“[Y]ou should not just follow your heart. You should lead it. [D]on’t let your feelings and emotions do the driving. You put them in the back seat and tell them where you’re going.”
You may not “feel” like doing-it… …but choose-forgiveness, anyway. Put the ‘emotions’ in the backseat and tell-them where you’re going!
I’ll leave you with an example of forgiveness that can humble and inspire us all:
“In October 2006, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a man stormed an Amish school and killed several girls. The day after the shootings, many Amish people visited the shooters family to say they had forgiven him. That sort of forgiveness is incomprehensible to the world... It is just this sort of love that is crazy to the world; true love, a kind found nowhere but through Christ.” (Crazy Love,130-131)
Choose forgiveness!
