The last 3 sermons have covered the 12 years of hardship God subjected Joseph to in Egypt, as both a slave and a prisoner. God used this time to transform Joseph into one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known, saving more lives than any other person in the Bible, save for Jesus. Today we recap the important lessons learnt about how God wants his people to handle such hardship.
In Gen 39 we saw that while Joseph would have lamented his hardship, he refused to allow it to ‘own’ him. Rather than wallow in self-pity or put life ‘on-hold’ until released, Joseph got on with life. In fact he thrived during those dark years, showing such integrity and tenacity that he kept getting put in charge.
In Gen 40 we learnt that hardship will either (i) push people away from God, or (ii) draw them closer to God. Though Joseph tried to secure his release, so long as it didn’t compromise his integrity, Joseph’s main gaol was to point all the glory to God. This chapter encourages us not to waste our seasons of suffering, but to use them to work on our relationship with God.
In Gen 41 we saw God’s main purpose in leading his people through hardship; to make them useful through fostering humility. When people receive a big promotion, it often goes to their head. The only reason Joseph could handle the biggest promotion in history (from dungeon to Vice-President) with such integrity is because his 12 years of suffering had bred humility (thinking of himself less).
In Gen 42-45 Joseph then passes on what God taught him to his brothers. For God’s people, suffering isn’t about punishment; it’s about God bringing just enough unpleasantness into our lives to bring about change. As such, we are not to look outside to find the reason for suffering, we are to look inside ourselves, and determine which sin or idol God is wanting to change in us.
