When someone asks us how things are going, we smile and say, “GREAT!”
How we are different from one another is often revealed not during our GOOD TIMES, but during the HARD TIMES!
One thing we all seem to do during HARD TIMES is turn to our friends for some sound advice. Often what we get is not good, sound advice, but a lot of RHYMES and CLICHÉS such as:
- “Grin and bear it.” I find no comfort in this, do you?
- “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I find no comfort in this, do you?
- “When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot on the end and hang on.” I absolutely find no comfort from the thought of hanging over a cliff by a rope with a knot in it.
The reason the world gives this kind of advice to us is because this is the only kind of advice the world knows to give.
Listen, what we need during HARD TIMES are not CLICHÉS or RHYMES. What we need are SOLUTIONS to our problems. The best advice we can get when HARD TIMES come is from the Word of God. For example, the life of Joseph, in the Old Testament, is a perfect picture of what we should and should not do when HARD TIMES descend on us. Some of the HARD TIMES that Joseph encountered were...
- Being thrown into a pit to die and later being sold into slavery by his biological brothers because they despised him and were jealous of him.
- If that was not enough, later he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into Pharaoh’s prison for ten long years.
Look at Genesis 39:20. We read, “And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.”
We can rest assured that the whole time Joseph was in prison Satan was whispering in his ear, “God does not love you. Look at ALL the bad things He has allowed to come your way.” However, Joseph was able to be victorious in spite of all of these horrible setbacks.
HOW DID HE DO IT?
Let us consider THREE things we can see in his life. Such as...
I. HE DID NOT DEMAND UNDERSTANDING.
It is not wrong to try to understand what we are going through, but we are not to DEMAND TO UNDERSTAND. Why? Because there are some things we cannot understand until we get to heaven. This is why the Christian life is called a “Walk of Faith.” If we knew WHY EVERYTHING was happening to us, we would not have to walk by faith.
For example, there is no justification or reasonable explanation for what Joseph’s brothers did to him or for what Potiphar’s wife did to him.
Joseph simply had to trust God for the situations he found himself in that did not make any sense to him, or seemed completely unexplainable! These are two horrible things that happened to Joseph.
Illus: If Joseph had been like some of today’s Christians, he would have DEMANDED THAT GOD EXPLAIN why he was being treated the way he was, or else he would have told the Lord he did not intend to serve Him another day.
WHY DO SOME CHRISTIANS DEMAND UNDERSTANDING DURING HARD TIMES? BECAUSE THEY DO NOT LIKE TO BE FORCED INTO A POSITION OF HAVING TO TRUST THE LORD.
Illus: For example, one of the reasons that people work so hard to have an abundant supply of money in the bank is because they want to be able to buy things when they want them. They do not like having to trust the Lord for those things.
WE LIKE DEPENDING ON OURSELVES INSTEAD OF DEPENDING ON GOD. However, when HARD TIMES come, and we are not capable of taking care of ourselves, we are FORCED TO TRUST GOD. Now we can see WHY GOD SENDS HARD TIMES. It is during the HARD TIMES that we DRAW CLOSE TO GOD. One of the reasons America is so far from God today is because these are GOOD TIMES.
Illus: Many politicians today would like to take credit for the greatness of this nation. The fact is, this nation is great, not because of them, but in spite of them.
God has richly blessed this nation and now we are so blessed we no longer feel the need to call upon Him for anything. We are so blessed, and have long been, the envy of every nation in the world. This would be well and good if we would express our gratitude and exalt God for blessing us, but it seems it is going to take HARD TIMES to cause us to recognize His blessings and draw close to Him.
Also, when HARD TIMES come we recognize our need to lay aside our sins and live a holy life. It is obvious that in 1997 Americans do not feel the need of living holy lives and drawing close to the Lord.
Illus: Evidence is abundant as to how low we have fallen. In recent years, one blatant sign was the national television news broadcasts reporting that the populace of this nation say they DO NOT CARE ABOUT CHARACTER, all they care about are the issues when it comes to electing our leaders.
There was a day in America when CHARACTER was the issue. A man of BAD CHARACTER SIMPLY WOULD NOT BE ELECTED if the people knew that. Today many are saying:
- “We do not care about how ungodly the men we elect to be president, to be congressmen, or senators are.”
- “We do not care if they are womanizers.”
- “We do not care if they use drugs.”
- “We do not care if they are homosexuals.”
- “We do not care if they are liars.”
- “We do not care if they have a history of criminal wrong doings."
“We do not care about CHARACTER. All we want to hear about are the ISSUES.”
THESE SHOULD BE THE ISSUES!
Yes, our people have been richly blessed and they do not feel the need TO DRAW CLOSE TO GOD! WHEN WILL AMERICA RETURN TO GOD? She will return when HARD TIMES come. Americans will return to God:
- When the stock market falls so those who are trusting in the almighty dollar will no longer have dollars to trust in.
- When war breaks out and we have to send our young men and women out to be slaughtered like wild animals on bloody battlefields.
- When God sends floods and tornadoes to wipe out crops and we no longer have food to waste.
Listen, as long as things are going good this nation will not return to the Lord because people usually only DRAW NIGH TO GOD DURING HARD TIMES. MEN AND WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS SOUGHT THE LORD DURING THE HARD TIMES.
Joseph needed HARD TIMES in his life. I need HARD TIMES in my life, and SO DO YOU! If we will be honest with ourselves, we will all admit we spend more time with God in HARD TIMES than we do during GOOD TIMES. It is during the HARD TIMES we have to trust God because it is then we recognize our inadequacies. Often in HARD TIMES we face problems that not only can we not solve, but they seem senseless. During these times God says we are to TRUST HIM! Why?
Look at Isaiah 55:8-9. We read, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Just because things do not make sense to us does not mean IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE! Just because we do not understand now does not mean we will NEVER UNDERSTAND!
Joseph had no UNDERSTANDING of why those horrible things were happening to him. Nevertheless, he continued to trust the Lord. Why? Joseph KNEW that GOD, the Creator, WAS DOING WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE to prepare him. God was preparing him to REIGN OVER EGYPT!
WHY SHOULD WE NOT DEMAND UNDERSTANDING AS WE GO THROUGH THE HARD TIMES? Because God’s THOUGHTS and WAYS are not ours.
Illus: Suppose the smartest engineer in the world built one of the most complex bridges that has ever been built. When the bridge was completed, suppose you went to him and told him, “I do not plan to drive across that bridge until you explain to me how it was built.” Suppose he said, “All right, let me explain,” and we proceeded to use engineering language that deals with stress loads and calculations you had never learned and so were not capable of understanding. The engineer might say, “I can not explain this to you. You will just have to trust me. The bridge is more than adequate to carry any load you can place upon it.”
This may help you understand how it is with God. We are not capable of understanding infinite things with these finite minds. God says, ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” We just have to trust Him even if we do not understand. In overcoming the HARD TIMES, we are to be like Joseph. We must not DEMAND UNDERSTANDING. It is definitely proper to seek understanding, but do not demand it! Joseph did something else.
II. HE DID NOT BOW TO BITTERNESS.
If any man had a right to become BITTER, Joseph had every right. The horrible things that had occurred in his life seemed senseless and unexplainable and he did not seem to deserve them.
We live in a society where some people are eaten up with bitterness. They felt that someone did them wrong ten years ago and they have progressively gotten more bitter every day.
Illus: Every pastor knows what it is to have people come to his office over and over as they face HARD TIMES and ask WHY? WHY? WHY? Many of them, with tears running down their cheeks will say, “I do not understand. This seems so senseless.”
Do you think that is how Joseph may have felt? Nowhere in scripture do we see that Joseph was bitter toward his brothers or toward Potiphar’s wife.
Bitterness will SHORTEN OUR LIVES and ROB US OF JOY and HAPPINESS. Joseph could have become bitter toward his brothers for selling him into slavery. It is believed that it was 15 to 17 years from the time Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery until Joseph ruled over Egypt. We all know what a difference 15 to 17 years can make in our appearance.
Illus: If you do not know the difference 15 to 17 years can make in your appearance, just go to your next high-school class reunion. The only way you will know 99% of the people is by the name tags they wear.
When Joseph’s brothers came to him for food they did not recognize him. They had not seen him since he was a young man. However, Joseph recognized them. He spoke to them through an interpreter and accused them of being spies. They told Joseph they were not spies and that in fact they were ALL ONE MAN’S SONS, that their father had twelve sons.
Joseph wanted them to think that he did not believe they were who they said they were. Look at Genesis 42:20. We read, “But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.” Then they were upset and Reuben figured this had come about because of their sin in the way they had treated Joseph. Look at Joseph’s reaction as he listened to them. In verse 24 we see IT WAS NOT ONE OF BITTERNESS. We read, “And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again...”
Joseph could have held a grudge against his brothers, but he DID NOT BOW TO BITTERNESS. Again, nowhere in scripture do we see that Joseph:
- Spoke evil against HIS BROTHERS or
- POTIPHAR’S WIFE for the wrong she did him.
Romans 12:19 says, “...Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
We have an old saying for when someone does us wrong, “I will have my day in court.”
Illus: There used to be a television program called, “The People’s Court.” Actual court sessions were broadcast on television. If someone felt he had been unlawfully treated, he could take the offender to court. After the decision was made by the judge, as people left the room, the reporter asked how they felt. If the person who had been wronged won, most of the time he would smile and he would say, “I FEEL GREAT!”
It is a delightful day when we “have our day in court” and receive justice for an unjust act that had been committed against us. However, many times in this life we do not get justice in the courts.
Here is the good news, child of God, God promised, “...Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” God says that HE WILL SEE TO IT THAT THEY GET WHAT IS COMING TO THEM and you will get justice.
Joseph DID NOT DEMAND TO UNDERSTAND, nor DID HE BOW TO BITTERNESS. He left everything in the hands of the JUST GOD Who promised HE WOULD TAKE CARE OF THOSE WHO DO US WRONG.
Notice, something else...
III. HE DID NOT FAIL TO BE FAITHFUL.
Joseph did not deserve to have those horrible things happen to him, but he used them to accomplish greater things. That is, God can take these HARD TIMES and allow us to go through them and we will come out a better person than we were when we entered them.
Illus: Joseph’s life reminds us of the story of the man who was observing a small ant crossing a piece of concrete slab. The ant was dragging a large piece of straw. He did very good until he came to a crack in the concrete too large for him to step over. He took the straw and pushed it across the crack and used it as a bridge to walk over.
Joseph had a lot of things pushing on him, but he used those things as a bridge for bigger and better things. Joseph stayed in prison for ten years. He was thirty years old when he got out of prison. EVERYONE HAD FORGOTTEN HIM EXCEPT GOD. The Bible says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in DUE TIME.” (I Peter 5:6)
DID JOSEPH HUMBLE HIMSELF?
He certainly did! He trusted the Lord for ten long years in that prison! DID GOD EXALT JOSEPH? God certainly did! He exalted him into the position next to the RULER OF EGYPT--with as much power as the ruler of Egypt.
Listen, we may be HUMBLED BY GOD ONE DAY, but God has a way of turning things around so that tomorrow we can be EXALTED!
Not only are God’s thoughts not our thoughts, but also His timing is not our timing. We have to trust GOD’S WAYS and GOD’S TIMING. Why? Because He is omniscient. Because He knows ALL THINGS, He knows what is best. WE DO NOT!
Illus: During the days of Oliver Cromwell it was the custom for the servant to sleep in the room with his master. One particular night, when Cromwell had a lot on his mind and could not sleep, he paced the floor. He paced so hard that his servant could not sleep so he sat up and said to Mr. Cromwell, “May I ask a question or two?” Mr. Cromwell said, “Sure, what is it you want to ask?” He asked,
- “Did God rule the world before we were born?” Cromwell said, “He certainly did.”
- “Will God rule the world after we are dead?” “He most certainly will.” He said, “Then master, why not let Him rule the present too?”
Conclusion/Summary:
As things go wrong, we must remember to follow Joseph’s example - let God rule!
I. HE DID NOT DEMAND UNDERSTANDING.
II. HE DID NOT BOW TO BITTERNESS.
III. HE DID NOT FAIL TO BE FAITHFUL.
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach many of his sermons on Youtube. Go to You tube and type Youtube Lykesland
