“GOD’S PRESENCE IN THE GOOD & THE BAD”
Gen. 39:21-23
FBCF – 5/28/23
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Facebook questions this week:
- What’s one thing that has brought you joy in the last month?
- What’s one thing that has brought you pain in the last month?
Answers were wide-ranging:
- Joy – salvation of kids, growth of our church, retirement, time w/ friends & family, new grandbabies, healing from diseases, the blessings & provisions of God, anticipation of retirement
- Pain – lingering consequences of past sin, uncertainty of future & limited time left, grief over loss of loved ones, fractured relationships, divorces, physical & mental suffering of friends & family members, work struggles
All of the answers I received on FB described one thing: LIFE! Every one of us is going to experience many moments of joy & many moments of pain as we walk the road of life. The pain is unavoidable & the joy is incredible. The joy is what we look forward to & the pain is what fear. The pain can drive us to our knees in agony & the joy can drive us to our knees in worship.
Joseph’s life certainly had both moments of joy & moments of pain. We’ve seen the dysfunction of his family, the disgust & deceitfulness of his brothers, & the dirty mind of Potiphar’s wife. And we will soon see incredible expressions of joy in his life & his family’s life. And through all the highs & lows, Joseph knew one certainty: God was w/ him.
- Andrew Murray: “May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, & joy of God’s presence, & not a moment w/out the entire surrender of myself as a vessel for Him to fill full of His Spirit & His love.” (https://gracequotes.org/?s=presence+of+God)
- That’s what we want to be able to say as we live our lives – that we will be filled w/ the presence of God & fully surrendered as a vessel for God.
EXPLANATION – Genesis 39:21-23
Timeline: Where are we in Joseph’s life right now? What have we seen him experience thus far?
- Hated by his brothers b/c of Joseph’s status as their father’s favorite son. Coat of many colors. Also hated b/c of the dreams he had of them bowing down to him.
- Assaulted by his brothers, some of whom wanted to kill him. Thrown into pit to die.
- Sold into slavery when the Ishmaelite caravan came by.
- Bought off the slave auction block by Potiphar who brought him into his house & made him the chief overseer of the house.
- Seduced by Potiphar’s wife but did not give into the temptation. Instead, he ran out of the house after her repented attempts to get him to go to bed w/ her. She lied to her husband & said Joseph tried to rape her.
- Potiphar got furious & threw him into prison. And that’s where we are now.
There’s one statement that keeps getting repeated in ch. 39 – “The Lord was w/ Joseph” – v. 2,3,21,23 – And that’s the statement that we are going to park on today.
APPLICATION – No matter what we are going through, God is always with us!
LOOK BACK & SEE WHAT THE LORD HAS BROUGHT YOU THROUGH
[Joseph’s] relatively brief but full experience of the Lord had taught him that while he could not expect to be exempted from life’s harshness & injustice, he could expect the Lord to be merciful & gracious toward him in the [undesirable] situation. He could look back on his meteoric rise from minor shepherd to major-domo & recognize the hand of God.” (David Stuart Brisco, The Communicator’s Commentary; Genesis, p. 321)
As Christ-followers, we need to have a deep appreciation for all that God has done for us in the past. The past might be as recent as last week, or it might be decades ago. But we need to look back & see what the Lord has brought us through. We don’t need to get stuck in the past & have an unhealthy longing for the “good old days.” But our testimony is built upon our completion of this statement: “Let me tell you how God has worked in my life…”
- Think about it right now: How HAS God worked in your past? What HAS He brought you through?
LOOK AROUND & SEE WHAT THE LORD IS DOING RIGHT NOW
Ch. 40 is the account of Joseph’s doing time in prison. Although his circumstances looked bleak, he had the assurance that God was w/ him. That HAD to be a HUGE source of comfort for him!
There was no way for Joseph to know that his interpretation of his cellmates’ dreams would eventually lead to his release. He was just doing what he could do in the moment, using the gift that God had given to him. He was just being faithful, even in the middle of a difficult situation.
What a great example for us! Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We walk by faith & not by sight.” Joseph could have let the sight of his circumstances shut him down, shut his mouth, which would have shut him out of God’s plan for his life.
Take a look at your present circumstances. No matter what they are, GOD IS WITH YOU!
- Even if you’re sitting in a doctor’s office, uncertain of the news you’re about to receive, God is at work!
- Even if your marriage & family are in shambles, God is at work!
- Even if you’re frozen by fear & uncertainty of the next step you need to take, God is at work!
- Don’t shut down! Look for God’s hand at work somewhere in your life! Keep praising Him! Keep serving Him! Stay connected to Him & to His people! Keep telling your story! Or START telling your story!
LOOK AHEAD & SEE WHAT THE LORD HAS PROMISED FOR THE FUTURE
You know what a “spoiler alert” is? It’s a warning that someone is about to reveal something about a TV show or a movie that those who’ve not yet seen it may not want to know. Here’s a spoiler alert for those of you who’ve not yet read the whole story of Joseph’s life: This story is going to end well. We won’t be able to cover all the details over the next few weeks, but you’re going to see some beautiful reconciliation & restoration happen in Joseph’s life & his family’s life. It is a beautiful story!
Even though you & I don’t know all the details of how our life story is going to play out, there is one thing we DO know: If you know Jesus, the story ends REALLY, REALLY WELL! You & I CAN look ahead & KNOW what God has promised to us.
- We know that He has NOT promised a life free from pain & suffering. In recent days, we’ve seen some of the finest, strongest Christian pastors in our country endure tremendous pain & suffering.
o Tim Keller – pancreatic cancer in 2020
o Michael Catt – prostate cancer 5 yrs. Now in brain stem. No further treatments.
o Matt Powell – FBC Tupelo – “The blessing far outweigh the pain…You don’t just get the blessings of God – you get God Himself!”
No matter what you’re going through – no matter how bad it gets - & it’s going to get really bad for some of us – we simply do not have to be afraid of how it’s going to end. If you know Christ, you WIN b/c HE HAS WON!
- Philippians 1:21 – “For to me to live is Christ & to die is gain.”
CONCLUSION – No matter what you’re going through right now – whether good or bad – keep doing these 4 things:
TRUST HIM – When times are good or bad; when you’re up or down; when you’re on the mountaintop or in the valley – KEEP TRUSTING HIM!
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”
For some of you, that means trust Him for the very first time & let him come into your life & save you today!
WORSHIP HIM – Pour your heart out to Him in praise, even in the midst of the storm – through your tears – in your pain.
- 2 Chronicles 20:12 – “we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you” – Worship gets your eyes back on Jesus.
OBEY HIM – God’s call on our lives for obedience does not change based on circumstances. No matter what – KEEP OBEYING HIM! And…
SERVE HIM – KEEP SERVING HIM! Don’t let your circumstances sideline you from serving the Lord. That’s EXACTLY what Satan wants you to do. Don’t let him win!
