For the past few weeks we've been talking about things like betrayal, temptation, and the injustices in our lives. Today I want to group all of that together and just talk a little bit about hard times in general.
Life is full of ups and downs. A star quarterback throws a game-winning touchdown, and his name is plastered all over the media. The following week, a bone crushing injury brings his career to a shocking end. But the opposite can also happen. A teenage girl living in poverty creates a YouTube video of her favorite song and it goes viral, traveling all over the world. Within days, she's offered multiple opportunities to sing. Her success inspires young musicians everywhere.
The sudden reversal of things in our lives can happen to all of us, creating a test of our faith and our character. Today we'll see Joseph travel from the prison to the Palace in a single day. His many years of suffering were finally repaid with a huge personal reward. Let's pay close attention to the way that Joseph kept his eyes on God through the good times and the bad. That’s what God wants us to hear today. He wants us to always stay focused on Him when times or good or bad. Don’t give up on God, but don’t forget about Him either.
Many times success goes to our heads. It can cause some to grow self-reliant and self-absorbed. But today let's notice how Joseph modeled for us what it means to remain faithful no matter how high or how low life takes us.
PRAYER
As it happened twice before, it was a dream that created a domino effect for Joseph. This was the third time this had happened. He first told his brothers about a dream and it landed him in Egyptian slavery. Later, the dreams of a baker and a cup bearer could have freed him from prison but didn't. Now, 2 years later, the powerful Egyptian pharaoh woke up with a troubled soul, desperately looking for someone to interpret his own dreams. This third dream sequence was going to catapult Joseph to incredible success. Our story begins in:
Genesis 41: 28-32 – “It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. 30 After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten.
***The famine will devastate the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. 32 Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and he will carry it out soon.”
Pharaoh’s dreams were visually vivid. They included healthy grain, thin grain, fat cows, and skinny cows. Only God could give the meaning of those dreams, and that was to whom Joseph looked to when Pharaoh gave him the opportunity. Back in verse 16, Joseph said, “It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” The bottom line of Pharaoh's two dreams was this. For 7 years, Egypt would have great abundance, but the following seven years would bring devastating famine.
This incident shows that following God daily helps keep our focused on Him. Just the way that Joseph unashamedly spoke for God should inspire us all. Pharaoh believed himself to be divine. Joseph unapologetically respected the one and only true God. Rather than giving himself the credit, drawing attention to his own ability to interpret dreams, he chose to give all glory to God. Joseph was thoroughly God-centered. In the lowest and in the highest moments of his journey nothing took his eyes off of the Lord.
I mentioned sudden reversals at the beginning of this message. Sudden reversals can be a test. When we experience a sudden reversal, moving from a good situation to a terrible one, we can become downcast. We might assume that God has abandoned us, and we become very upset by that.
On the other hand, when our lives take a turn for the better, we can be tempted to become big-headed, can't we? Instead of thinking God has forsaken us, we can be the ones who forsake God, walking away from Him in our thoughts and practices. In fact, success can often cause a greater spiritual struggle than a season of loss.
When Divine wisdom was needed, Joseph was ready. How? He maintained a walk with God, even during the dark days. So, when the light came, he was in a position to hear from God and to display the wisdom needed in that moment. His steady walk with God kept Joseph's focus clearly on the lord.
In our daily walk with God, sometimes obstacles can get in the way. These obstacles might keep us from daily prayer time and reading God's word. God challenges us to think about what it is that might be coming between us and Him. I encourage you to identify that obstacle and figure a way to eliminate or at least lessen the obstacle so that you can stay close in touch with God.
I hope that you can see that keeping your focus on God will make you more spiritually mature. Let me tell you a story about Jack.
When Jack was in college, he had big dreams of running his own construction company and he was willing to work hard to get there. He soaked up every resource that he could find and built many relationships with successful people. When he started work at an entry level position, the manager noticed Jack's talent, and he began letting Jack attend a few executive level meetings.
Over the course of that first year, Jack's dream began to unfold. He moved quickly up the corporate ladder. Behind the scenes, though, Jack gradually grew less engaged with God. His former disciplines of Bible study, Church attendance and involvement, and sharing Christ took a back seat to his involvement in business. He simply put God on a shelf while he chased his own plans.
Unfortunately, this is the story of far too many people, but not Joseph. He was like a firm and steady oak tree. Through thick and thin, he kept his eyes on the Lord. Joseph makes me think of what Isaiah said:
Isaiah 26:3 – “You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace,
for it is trusting in you.”
It's more than obvious that when we are in need, we tend to be more regular in church. But when times are good, we do just the opposite. What God wants us to know is that keeping our focus on Him helps us know how to manage prosperity and endure the difficulties when they come.
Genesis 41:47-49 – “During the seven years of abundance the land produced outstanding harvests. 48 Joseph gathered all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and put it in the cities.
****He put the food in every city from the fields around it. 49 So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure.”
Without missing a beat, Joseph offered an unsolicited but brilliant business plan to get them through the rough years ahead. Pharaoh recognized Joseph's unique talent behind his plans. So, he promoted Joseph to second in command. For the first 7 years, the rains came down and the crops came up, just as the Lord had said. The economy was booming, and throughout the ancient Middle east, people celebrated the riches produced by the land.
Through those wealthy years, Joseph didn't become overconfident though. He took full advantage of the season of surplus and put the food in every city to prepare for the years of starvation. The Bible tells us that the crops were in such abundance like the sand of the sea, that he stopped measuring it because it was beyond measure.
Again, as I said, keeping our focus on God helps us know how to manage prosperity. In Scott Fitzgerald's book The Great Gatsby, the main character was a millionaire who threw lavish parties for strangers and had a lifestyle most Americans dream of living. When he walked into a room, people parted like the Red Sea. He was the most popular person around because people were drawn to his wealth.
One night, though, a person observed Gatsby standing out on the end of a pier, all alone. His arms were outstretched, and his eyes fixed on a glowing green light across the water. The symbolism of that moment captures the heart of the story. Often, the person who seems to have it all is secretly longing for something else.
When JD Rockefeller was asked how much money is enough, he replied, “Just $1 more.” Money may be necessary to live, but it's a lousy reason to live. During the years of plenty, Joseph took in all the wealth of the land, but he never allowed the power or the wealth to hypnotize him. He remembered what God had told him. The season of prosperity was a blessing, but he knew that the tide would roll out just as it had rolled in.
God wants us to find our contentment in Christ and not in worldly circumstances. It almost seems cruel to repeat myself but when times are hard in people's lives, they seem to be more focused on Christ and the church. But when times are good and the prosperity is there, why is it that God, many times, seems to be put on the back burner? God warns us of that today. For the third time, keep focused on God and He will help you manage the prosperity but also help you to prepare for the difficulties when they come. Listen to what the apostle Paul said to the Philippians in a letter that he wrote to them.
Philippians 4:11-13 – “ I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. 12 I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot.
***In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Over the past two decades, tragedy has come upon America in unimaginable ways. Just as the new millennium began, hijackers attacked the twin towers of the world trade center and the pentagon, and an unprecedented era of terrorism began. The comforts and safety we had known in previous decades changed overnight, and a new normal was upon us.
Then, 18 years later, while the economy was soaring, a global pandemic shot down Church services, restaurants, sporting events, and concerts. Social distancing, mask wearing, and video-calling became normal, everyday practices. How quickly life can change.
As we read the story of Joseph, we see a man who didn't allow seasons of wealth to lull him to sleep. Instead, Joseph followed the plans of God, storing away for the future and expecting the unexpected. There is wisdom for all of us here. As the apostle Paul said, “We should learn to embrace the joys that come with all economic situations. And we need to remember that we are able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”
Genesis 41:50-54 – “ Two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine arrived. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On, bore them to him. 51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh and said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family.”
***52 And the second son he named Ephraim and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” 53 Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every land, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.”
In those first seven years as prime minister, Joseph fathered two sons. Their names had significant meaning for Joseph. He named his first son Manasseh, which means “he who causes to forget.” For 13 years, Joseph may have mentally replayed the betrayal of his brothers. But the birth of Manasseh helped Joseph put the past behind him.
Joseph's second son was named Ephraim, which means “fertile” and describes the season of life Joseph was enjoying. Not only was his family growing, but his influence and leadership were soaring as well. Every now and then, the Lord allows each of us to experience unexpected seasons of blessing, filled with gratitude, hope, and cheer. Joseph knew that hard times were ahead, but he named his second son fertile so that he would never forget the beautiful seasons in his story, which balanced out the dark ones.
The names Manasseh and Ephraim were meaningful names because of what they signified, but they were also special because they were Hebrew names. It is easy to overlook this decision that Joseph made to keep his allegiance to the God of Israel.
Joseph was surrounded by Egyptian culture and gods, but he didn't waver from his faith in the lord. In verse 45 we see that Pharaoh gave Joseph the name zaphenath-paneah, but he would always maintain his Hebrew name, joseph. He was heading into seven hard years of struggle, but he kept his faith strong and ready for what God was doing.
And this is God's lesson for us from this passage. If we keep our focus on God, it allows us to see that God is always at work. ,The startling aspect of Joseph's life was not that he praised God in times of plenty, but that he held on to his faith in seasons of suffering. ,He learned, by that, that the Lord could be trusted and that God has all things under his control.
We have to do the same. As our world becomes increasingly secular, the beliefs of Christianity will be considered more and more old-fashioned and out of touch. We see signs of that even now. Christians will be increasingly downgraded, and believers will need to count the cost of being associated with Jesus.
While we work at resisting the hard time with all of our might, these hard times can be moments of great spiritual growth. God encourages us today to hold on even in times of famine. With time, we will see that God is still at work.
And so I ask you today, what is your famine? What area in your life currently feels bleak and dry? Now, as hard as it might be for you, praise God in the face of this situation, and recognize that God is at work and watch for His goodness and His provision.
Maybe your bleak and dry spot in your life right now is not knowing Jesus as your personal Savior. I offer you that opportunity right now to take care of that. Won't you let go and allow Jesus to come into your heart and to guide your life from this day forward? The choice is yours.
