In 1969, in a science lab in New Jersey, Canadian physicist Willard Boyle and his colleagues invented the concept of an electronic eye. Using their knowledge of mathematics and the behavior of light they provided the science behind digital cameras known as a charged-coupled device or CCD. The CCD technology revolutionized photography, as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film. CCD technology is used on the Hubble telescope and the Mars Lunar probe. It was Boyle's invention that allowed us to see the surface of Mars for the first time. In 2009 Boyle was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
A few years after the original invention of CCD technology, Boyle walked into a store to purchase a new digital camera based on his invention. During the visit, the salesman tried to explain the intricacies of the digital camera, but stopped, feeling it was too complicated for his customer to understand. According to one long-time friend, Boyle was normally a humble man, but on this occasion he was taken aback by the salesman's arrogance and disrespect. So Boyle bluntly replied: “No need to explain. I invented it.” When the salesman didn't believe him, Boyle told the salesman to type “Willard S. Boyle” into his computer and see for himself. A Nikon representative in the store heard the exchange and immediately came over to have his photograph taken with the famous inventor. (Allison Lawlor, “Master of Light invents a photo revolution,” Globe and Mail, 5-21-11; www.PreachingToday.com)
There are a lot of “Willard Boyle” types around here. They seem like ordinary people, but when you do a little research into their background, you discover that they are indeed very remarkable. I’m talking about all those of us who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that we are a chosen people, kings and priests in God’s Kingdom (1 Peter 2:9), given the “right to be called sons of God” (John 1:12). Through faith in Christ, we join the ranks of believers from all ages whom God has used in remarkable ways even in difficult times and difficult places.
Is that where you find yourself today – in a difficult time and place? Then let me encourage you from the story of Joseph who found himself in an Egyptian prison after being sold into slavery. He had been a slave and a prisoner for 13 long years (Genesis 37:2; 41:45), forgotten by his family and those he tried to help. But even there, in the place of his affliction, God used Joseph in a remarkable way.
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 41, Genesis 41, where we pick up the story at the end of those 13 years, two years after he helped one of Pharaoh’s officials in prison. Joseph had asked this official to mention him to Pharaoh, but that official forgot all about Joseph.
Genesis 41:1-2 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. (ESV)
Now, cows coming out of the water to graze are not an unusual sight anywhere where it’s hot. They like to stand about half submerged in water where they find refuge from the heat and the flies. Then when they get hungry, they come out of the water for some grass. This is not an unusual sight even in ancient Egypt. What was unusual was the scene that followed.
Genesis 41:3-6 And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind (ESV) – a dry, devastating, desert wind.
Genesis 41:7-8 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh. (ESV)
All the scholars and experts of Egypt were clueless, and these were men who had done extensive research in this area. Magicians and wise men were experts in the interpretation of dreams and omens, but Pharaoh’s dreams had them stumped.
Genesis 41:9-14 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.” Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. (ESV)
You see, in Egyptian culture, Joseph was not properly attired. Egyptian men were clean shaven; Hebrew men like Joseph wore beards. On top of that, Joseph had his prison garb on, certainly not the proper attire for an appearance before the mighty Pharaoh. By all outward appearances, Joseph was certainly nobody remarkable, but here he is standing before Pharaoh himself.
Genesis 41:15-16 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” (ESV)
I love Joseph’s reply to Pharaoh. Literally, in the Hebrew text, Joseph says, “Not me, God!” Joseph’s faith is in God, not himself. Joseph knows that in and of himself he can do nothing, but with God, all things are possible! God can do what even the best of men cannot do.
Genesis 41:17-25 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. (ESV)
Notice; Joseph gives all the credit to God.
Genesis 41:26-32 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. (ESV)
Very quickly, God will send seven years of abundance followed by seven years of a drought so severe, that the good times will all be forgotten.
Genesis 41:33-36 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.” (ESV)
Save up in the good years for the lean years ahead. I think we need some advisors like that in Washington D.C. It’s great advice. In fact, it’s the kind of advice that reflects the wisdom of Solomon in the book of Proverbs which will not be written for another thousand years. The experts of Egypt had no such wisdom, but Joseph had it because he trusted in God to give it to him.
Genesis 41:37-42 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. (ESV)
The garments of fine linen and the gold chain were the clothes of royalty, and the signet ring carried Pharaoh’s full authority. With it, Joseph could authorize any law or stamp any document, and it would carry the same weight as if Pharaoh himself had authorized the law.
Genesis 41:43-44 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” (ESV)
Joseph had unlimited power in Egypt.
Genesis 41:45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. (ESV)
Zapheneth-Paneah means something like “Savior of the World” or “Sustainer of Life,” and it was a fitting title, because Joseph’s wise advice and actions sustained life and saved many people from starvation.
Genesis 41:46-49 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured. (ESV)
Joseph’s dream was to become leader of his own little tribe someday, but God made him a world ruler and put him in a place where he could save not only his family, but many other people as well. In fact, Joseph’s actions preserved the line through whom Messiah would come, the Savior of the world!
God used Joseph in the place of his affliction, and God can use you in such places, as well. All you have to do, like Joseph, is…
TRUST GOD TO USE YOU FOR HIS GLORY.
Depend on the Lord to use you even in the place of our affliction. Rely on Christ, even in difficult times, to accomplish something absolutely amazing through you.
On January 24, 1975, the world-renowned pianist Keith Jarrett played in front of a live audience at the Cologne opera house. The album for the concert recording was released in the fall of 1975 to critical acclaim, and went on to become the best-selling solo album in jazz history, and the all-time best-selling piano album.
But all of this didn't come easy. Jarrett had originally requested the use of a Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand piano for the performance. But there was some confusion by the opera house staff and instead they found another Bösendorfer piano backstage—a much smaller baby grand used for rehearsals—and placed it on the stage. According Vera Brandes, the concert's organizer, the substitute piano was “was completely out of tune, the black notes in the middle didn't work, the pedals stuck. It was unplayable… Keith played a few notes,” Brandes recalls. ”Then [Jarrett's producer] played a few notes. They didn't say anything. They circled the instrument several times and then tried a few keys. Then after a long silence, [the producer] came to [Brandes] and said, ‘If you don't get another piano, Keith can't play tonight.’”
They couldn’t get another piano, but Jarrett decided to go ahead with the concert anyway. The minute he played the first note, everybody knew it was magic. The audience hushed into awed silence. That night's performance began with a simple chiming series of notes, then quickly gained complexity. Standing up, sitting down, moaning, writhing, Jarrett didn't hold back in any way as he pummeled the unplayable piano to produce something unique. One music critic noted, “Mr. Jarrett turned the banal and familiar into something gorgeous and mysterious.” (Corinna Da-Fonseca-Wollheim, “A Jazz Night to Remember,” Wall Street Journal, 10-11-08; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s exactly what God loves to do. He loves to turn the banal into something beautiful. Trust Him to do it for you. Do you find yourself in the place of affliction today? Then trust God to use you for His glory in that place. More than that…
TRUST GOD TO MAKE YOU FORGET YOUR TROUBLES in that very place, as well.
Depend on the Lord to so richly bless you in the place of affliction that you forget the sorrows you experienced along the way. Rely on Christ to bring such good out of the pain that you don’t even remember the pain when it’s all said and done. That’s what God did for Joseph. Look at verse 50.
Genesis 41:50-51 Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 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.” (ESV)
“Manasseh” comes from the Hebrew word which mean “forget.” God made Joseph forget all his trouble, and God can do that for you, as well.
It reminds me of what Jesus said to His followers in John 16. “Truly, truly, I say to you,” He said, “you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:20-22).
When your faith is in Christ, even though you go through times of great grief, He turns that grief into times of such joy that you forget the pain. Please, trust Him to do it for you. Whatever you do in your pain, don’t give up on Christ. Instead, keep on trusting Him until your pain is forgotten, because God has turned it into praise.
Most things we like to remember, but there are some things we would rather forget. I feel sorry for those 55 people in the United States, who have been diagnosed with hyperthymesia. It’s a condition in which people can remember the vast majority of the events in their lives with vivid detail.
Alexandre Wolfe is one of the fifty-five. In an interview for National Public Radio, she described how she remembers every detail of a mundane activity like driving to Target for groceries, which occurred more than ten years ago. She remembers what she wore and ate every day for the past decade. She remembers if the fan in the bedroom was running on this date last year. Sometimes this extraordinary ability is an advantage, but at other times—many other times—it is a curse.
One interviewee in the NPR report says that he remembers all the wrongs done against him and all the wrongs he has committed. A middle-aged character with hyperthymesia remembers everything she said and did since the onset of puberty. She also remembers the wrongs people have done to her and those memories haunt and harass her. (Alix Spiegel, "When Memories Never Fade, The Past Can Poison the Present," NPR, 12-27-15; House, Season 7, Episode 12, "You Must Remember This;" www.PreachingToday.com)
Sometimes, it’s a blessing to forget, and it’s a blessing Jesus promises to those who trust Him. Do you find yourself in the place of affliction? Then trust God to use you for His glory in that place. Trust God to make you forget your pain in that place. And in that very place…
TRUST GOD TO MAKE YOU FRUITFUL, as well.
Depend on the Lord to make you useful in the place of your affliction. Rely on Christ to produce lasting results that will make an impact on into eternity.
That’s what God did for Joseph. Joseph had two sons born to him in the land of his affliction. The first one was named Manasseh, which means forget.
Genesis 41:52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” (ESV)
Ephraim actually means “doubly fruitful,” and look at how fruitful Joseph became.
Genesis 41:53-57 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth. (ESV)
God used Joseph to save not only Egyptians from starvation, but also people from all over the world. In addition, as we shall see in the following chapters, God will use Joseph to save his own family through whom the promised Messiah would come. You see, this is part of a larger story, the story of redemption, that God is unfolding to save the world through Jesus Christ, His Son.
God made Joseph fruitful in the land of his affliction, and He will do the same for you, as well. You see, what you do as a believer in Christ is not just for a short time; it’s for all eternity. It’s all a part of God’s plan to redeem lost sinners through faith in His Son. It may not seem like much now, but in eternity the ramifications will have significant impact.
The American missionary Adoniram Judson arrived in Burma, or Myanmar, in 1812, and died there thirty-eight years later in 1850. During that time, he suffered much for the cause of the gospel. He was imprisoned, tortured, and kept in shackles. After the death of his first wife, Ann, he was so depressed that he sat daily beside her tomb for several months. Three years later, he wrote: God is to me the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I cannot find him.
Even so, Adoniram's threw himself into the tasks to which he believed God had called him. He worked feverishly on his translation of the Bible. The New Testament had recently been printed, and he finished the Old Testament in early 1834.
Statistics are unclear, but there were only somewhere between twelve and twenty-five professing Christians in the country when he died, and there were no churches to speak of.
At the 150th anniversary of the translation of the Bible into the Burmese language, Paul Borthwick was addressing a group that was celebrating Judson's work. Just before he got up to speak, he noticed in small print on the first page the words: “Translated by Rev. A. Judson.” So Borthwick turned to his interpreter, a Burmese man named Matthew Hia Win, and asked him, “Matthew, what do you know of this man?” Matthew began to weep as he said:
We know him—we know how he loved the Burmese people, how he suffered for the gospel because of us, out of love for us. He died a pauper, but left the Bible for us. When he died, there were few believers, but today there are over 600,000 of us, and every single one of us traces our spiritual heritage to one man: the Rev. Adoniram Judson.”
But Adoniram Judson never saw it! (Julia Cameron, editor, Christ Our Reconciler, InterVarsity Press, 2012, pp. 200-201; www.PreachingToday.com)
In the same way, you may never see the fruit of your labor for Christ, but He has promised “much fruit” for those who abide in Him.
So trust Him. Even in the place of your affliction, trust Him to use you for His glory; trust Him to make you forget your pain; and trust Him to make you fruitful as you live your life for Him.
In His time, in His time;
He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me ev’ry day
As You’re teaching me your way,
That You do just what you say in Your time. (Diane Ball)
