“Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.”
Genesis 39:1-6 ESV
I don’t know but am fairly certain that, like me, you’ve encountered some “unfair” trials in life. To start and be clear, we must remember that we aren’t talking merely about a story. Yes, this is a recounting of part of the drama of a real person, Joseph, son of Jacob, in Egypt many, many years ago (likely around 1765 B.C.). But this recounting is in the Bible, the holy and life-giving word/law of the most High God and is, therefore, completely authoritative. In other words, there’s nothing more important in our lives (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) than knowing and obeying the commandments of the Lord. And how are we to obey the God of whom we’re ignorant? Thus, the point emerges: we study Scripture humbly and prayerfully. It’s a catastrophe in our lives, not that something bad happens, but that we don’t study the word of God or, when we do, we sit over rather than under it.
That said, none of us, regardless of our trial, has been treated quite so shabbily as Joseph. What great lessons and wisdom await us if we’re humble enough to hear them!
Joseph’s betrayal by his brothers and subsequent enslavement is tragic. Here in America, a land and time of amazing wealth, we often struggle with a deadly virus called “affluenza.” By not struggling under the great yoke of real poverty (and by that we mean starvation), it’s easy to become full of ourselves. It’s in this light that we should approach this subject. We aren’t going to out-Joseph Joseph. Our problems and trials right now, in regard to the context at hand, are pebbles along a beach compared to the boulders and mountains faced by Joseph.
Now the lesson emerges: no matter what happens to us, God is sovereign. If we find ourselves in a pickle, as it were, in some unpleasant circumstance, we must remind ourselves, per this passage, that the Lord is not taking a nap. Much spiritual growth is lost, so much time and energy forfeited, due to our reluctance to submit to this great and elemental Christian lesson. If we suffer for our sin (as a criminal or because we’re lazy or proud, etc.) that’s not the issue here. Repent of sin and learn. This, though, is a case of “circumstances” overtaking us. This is a lesson for us to apply personally. The point of faith isn’t feelings, but obedience and fruits of the Spirit. Joseph was blessed by God because even in this horrible trial he stayed obedient.
To be honest, I’ve whined and complained about far, far worse than being betrayed and sold into enslavement in a foreign land. In my past I’ve wasted many opportunities to speak about beautiful things, blessed things, and the Lord Himself, and instead railed on for hours about how I’d been wronged by such and such, or by this or that. I bet you have too. I’ve grumbled and complained…yes, like my spiritual ancestors who perished in the wilderness. But I wasn’t walking through the desert. My “wilderness,” like yours, is different, but the principle is the same. Will we trust the Lord during the trials just as we do during the successes or will we “self-medicate” with sin? Will we obey Him to see us through or will we scheme and slander and lose our honor over some slight or another? The lesson is clear: pressure doesn’t develop character so much as it reveals it.
Joseph is rewarded with success because he refuses to grumble and complain. He doesn’t look at his new (and pagan) master and say to himself, “well, Potiphar is a sinner and this whole situation is absurdly unfair, so I hate him and this place.” Instead, he faithfully executes his new duties to the glory and honor of the God who sovereignly put him there.
Wherever you are right now, this is your lesson too…and mine. God is never on a coffee break. He supernaturally ordains all of our challenges and trials to test and grow our faith. And the lesson: there’s never a reason to grumble and complain against a leader, a boss, or anyone else because that is, in actual fact, grumbling against the sovereign God. To say that we should do whatever our hand finds to do with all our might is to believe the Bible and show our faith in all circumstances. We find out when we’re grumbling and whining what we truly believe. Again: struggle reveals character and character is the fruit of our deepest beliefs. Who we are is shown in how we handle pressure and trial.
In June 1989, Sugar Ray Leonard fought a rematch with the great Tommy Hearns in Las Vegas. The temperature, though in the evening, was predictably hot as the match was outdoors. In the ring it was nearly 120 degrees due to the lights and the dying day’s heat. In the 11th round Tommy battered Ray to the canvas with a succession of pulverizing right hands. It was Hearns’ best weapon and Ray was pounded down. Tommy went to a neutral corner and waited. Not just to finish Ray but to avenge his career’s first and great defeat to Ray back in September of 1981. They’d met as undefeated champions but Sugar Ray had dramatically KO’d him. Now he had Ray and that ghost of shame down…not out yet, but down.
So, Leonard was on a knee in the middle of the ring. The ref was counting over him. The heat. The pain. The sight of Tommy lurking and the assault to come. It was all there. The count went on and we saw Ray Leonard the man sigh…no, it wasn’t a sigh, it was a deep breath to steel him for what he had to face. Then he rose to his feet before the ref reached ten. There it was again, on his feet, the ref wiped his gloves, the deep breath…and then the ref backed away and here came Tommy for his vengeance. To finish him in that lonely ring in the desert. Here it came. I remember watching. It was incredible drama and here came the inevitable…Tommy battered Ray from pillar to post, hacking and pounding away with those blazing red fists on that hot, hot night. And you’re watching and thinking, “he can’t take all these…he can’t block them all…sooner or later…”
But then, alas, fatigue caught up to the attacker. The passion of the hunt, the ferocity of the attack and the lust for vengeance in that inferno drained Tommy and he slowed to catch his breath. But if Ray Leonard had gone down, it was Sugar Ray Leonard who had risen and we might never would have known that if not for this exact moment. Tommy tired and all of a sudden Sugar Ray roared back to life and the attack was his. Thus it was on a night most of you probably either never knew or had long forgotten. History is thus. It flattens us…steamrolls even kings and great champions. But the principle is clear – and biblical. Everyone wants to win; we all want success. This lesson from boxing is the lesson of faith. False faith wants the blessings of God but not God. We know false converts, pretenders and liars, by what they do with pressure. Do they rise to face the storm or sneak out of the ring (and we’re all in a ring somewhere) and complain the fight was unfair?
Please don’t confuse weak faith with false faith. Weak faith stays on the canvas sometimes. Weak faith gets KO’d by this storm or that. But the Lord will not let His true children fail ultimately and finally. They will beat that trial and that test even if on the 100th fight. The false one quits and complains; the weak brother or sister learns the lessons and eventually, through faith, prevails even in the losses. Weak believers struggle with discipline, but in humble love of the Lord, they grow, they rise, they face the storm of sin and trial in and with Him. False believers refuse discipline; when the storm comes, they resent His sovereignty. True believers learn more and more to fight sin in Christ; false believers fight others, division follows them, strife is their robe, because the cause they fight for is themselves. When they don’t get their way, look out. They seek God’s blessings but reject His authority. False believers are always anti-authoritarian and will not accept discipline.
Thus, this is Joseph’s story and yours and mine too. We are both warned and encouraged in it.
Our promise land is ahead but right now we’re in the wilderness between our slavery to sin and our home in the Lord’s mansion. Joseph’s story, to be understood, must, at its core, be known to us in this capacity first. Joseph didn’t go looking for a trial and test.
It found him.
Let’s not confuse lack of wisdom with trial. Faith is never unwise. The lack of wisdom causes us to embark on foolish, wasteful endeavors; it neglects Godly pursuits and disciplined patience. The “trials” of unwise living are consequences, not tests. The answer is to stop doing stupid, unnecessary stuff.
We’re talking about trials that emerge on our path of faithfulness. We speak of Sugar Ray Leonard because his struggle in the ring is a type of our actual and far more meaningful struggle against sin and to sweet and beautiful faithfulness. Right now, what is your struggle? If we have some circumstance we think excuses lazy spirituality or lack of faith we are chastened by God’s word and Joseph’s story.
Obey the Lord right where you are, right now. The great lesson of our faith is that we’re being discipled by the Spirit all the time and a sure sign of false faith is a resistance to humility and correction (Proverbs 12:1). Oh, how many shipwreck their lives because they simply won’t be faithfully disciplined. Oh, how much church drama there is because His bride finds excuses for unfaithful service!
The answer to all of that is repentance and blessed restoration. Remember: this (the Bible) is our ultimate authority, so let us not call Him a liar. Let us lay aside all excuse-making and gossip and slander and serve Him and our neighbor wherever we find ourselves right now. There are no excuses for such sin or else Joseph certainly had them (and the Lord too in His earthly ministry!).
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