Genesis 37:18-24
Staying Steady in Struggles
Do you know the life of Joseph? It was a difficult life. It started
when Joseph was a child. God gave Joseph’s dream and understanding of
truths through those dreams. For example, Joseph had the reoccurring
dream that he would somehow be promoted above brothers and even his
own parents. \\#Ge 37:5-8, 9-11\\.
But things did go the way one would think—I am certain it did
not go the way Joseph thought. One writer described his next few
years in three expressions:
1. Obedient but hated - We are seeing that in our text. Joseph
obeyed his father in going to check on his 10 brothers and
the flocks, but they hated their younger brother. Their
first plan was to kill him, but they finally settled on
selling Joseph into slavery.
2. Honorable but slandered - Once in Egypt, Joseph was sold to
Potiphar and God blessed him to the point that Joseph was in
charge of Potiphar’s home and business, but Potiphar’s wife
lusted after Joseph. She lied, claiming Joseph attempted to
rape her, and Joseph was sent to prison for the very sin he
refused to commit.
3. Used (of God) but forgotten - But even in prison, God promoted
Joseph. People learned of his ability to interpret dreams
and Joseph had opportunities to reveal the meaning of dreams
to some of Pharaoh’s highest servants. Joseph asked one in
particular to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, to get him
released from prison, but the man forgot Joseph.
htp://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-joseph-prison-innocence-hope-
trust-genesis-39-40
In all, Joseph stayed in chains for 13 years, 13 years. So what can
we conclude? Was God angry with Joseph? Is God a mean God? An
uncaring God? A weak God that He could not protect Joseph?
Some look at their lives and think this about God, but it is because
they are trying to figure out God by looking at their lives. What
we need to do is to try to figure out our life by looking at God. If
you try to figure out God by looking at your life, you will get the
wrong image of God for life is hard, bitter, disappointing. If you
are trying to figure out God by looking at your life, that is how
you will view God! But if try to figure out your life by looking at
God, you will see things completely different.
Tonight, let me give you three thoughts to consider.
I. God had a place for Joseph.
A. God creates every person for a place.
1. God is a sovereign God who makes some decisions for us.
2. The overall purpose in the place God selects is to
glorify Himself.
Is 43:7 Even every one that is called by my
name: for I have created him for my glory, I
have formed him; yea, I have made him.
3. God selects our place based on His foreknowledge of what
will happen.
a. One of God’s abilities is His foreknowledge.
(1) Speaking of Jesus…
Ac 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken,
and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
(2) Speaking of what God does in our salvation…
Ro 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brethren.
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace,
be multiplied.
b. Foreknowledge does not mean God selects everything
for us but it does mean He selects somethings
knowing what is going to happen.
c. I believe God knew that I would be saved and God
selected me to preach His Word before He ever
created the world.
d. However, I had to choose to be obedient to His will.
4. The best I can discern, God made no unneeded people and
He never changes His mind about their purposes.
Ro 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are
without repentance.
a. Why should He?
b. He knows everything that is going to happen before it
does!
B. God intended Joseph to be Pharaoh’s assistant from the
beginning of what we call time.
1. God never abandoned or forsook Joseph.
2. God never changed His mind about Joseph. God never
changed His plans for Joseph. In everything, God did what
He had always planned to do.
3. Sometimes when we are going through difficulties, we
forget that God has everything planned from the
beginning.
II. The path God chose to get Joseph to that place was the path
needed to grow Joseph for that place.
A. The path God chose for Joseph was hard but the place that God
chose for Joseph was hard as well!
1. Does anyone think it would be easy to live in a pagan
culture and still live for God?
a. Joseph had to make some holy decisions.
(1) Joseph would spend all of his adult life in a
pagan world but would never be corrupted by it.
(2) I have known people that don’t do that and they
selected the world in which they live.
b. Joseph had to make some tough decisions.
(1) Some decisions that Joseph made gave food and
life to people.
(2) Some decisions that Joseph made deprived food
and life to some people as well.
2. Joseph would be dealing with slaves and kings, good men
and bad men, deceivers and victims, profiteers and the
poor.
a. How did God train Joseph for this?
b. God let Joseph live with these kinds of men and even
by the victim of them.
c. Was it fun? No, but having experienced the treatment
that he did, you can know that Joseph was careful
how he treated others once God put him in his place!
B. But what about Joseph’s dreams? What about God’s promises to
Joseph?
1. We need to understand that the dreams God gave to Joseph
were destination dreams.
a. That is, they were dreams to show him where he would
end up. (Joseph was to be a ruler so great that his
own family would bow before him.)
b. However, they were not dreams to show Joseph how he
would get there. (The dreams did not talk about
betrayal, slavery, lies, imprisonment,
disappointments.)
2. Perhaps the reason God did that is because God knew that
Joseph could not handle too much foreknowledge about
the hardships he would have to endure.
a. Much like the nurse giving the shot or the mom
removing the band aid, most prefer the pain to come
when we do not expect it.
b. Why? Because if we know the pain is coming, we might
flinch and pull away.
c. For most, the expectation of pain is worse than the
pain itself.
C. Some of the promises that God has given to us also relate to
our destinations.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Re 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters: and God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes.
1. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some hardships
getting there.
2. In fact, God has told us that hardships are going to
come.
Lu 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay
their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering
you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being
brought before kings and rulers for my name’s
sake.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
3. God spares us from knowing the details of our bad days so
that we don’t flinch. So that we can enjoy even the
seconds before the hardships come.
4. It may not always seem like mercy, but it is.
III. Joseph had no input in the place or the path that God had for
him, only in his reactions along the way.
A. God’s sovereignty selects our place and our path, but our
freewill determines our reactions.
1. It is interesting how totally separate one is from the
other.
2. We may and should ask God for guidance, wisdom, and
blessing in making our choices, but the choices are
still ours.
3. We may seek God’s mercy and goodness, but the place and
paths that He takes us to are still His choices.
B. So how will we respond to the path God has us on is one of
our most important choices.
1. With steadfastness to finish our course.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us,
a. To this day, I do not know the next place that God has
for me nor the path that He will use to take them
there.
b. I just want to get there!
2. With gratefulness for the things that we perceive are
good.
a. I say "perceive" because we do not always know what
the good and the bad are.
b. Joseph did not, but he learned later one.
Ge 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against
me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to
pass, as it is this day, to save much people
alive.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose.
3. With humility for the things we don’t like.
a. Might I say that on this point, Job struggled.
b. Job had the steadfastness down, but he felt God had
done him wrong and felt he needed to talk to God
about it.
Job 10:2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me;
shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest
oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of
thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the
wicked?
c. Let us do our best to trust that God has a plan that
we don’t know about and remember that God is a good
God.
Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is
good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
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