Morning Message Text: Genesis 45: 3-11, 15
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.
7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay.
10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.
11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
Morning Message:
I want to start this morning with a verse of scripture from Habakkuk. How many of you have ever read the book of Habakkuk? Chapter 3: verses 17-18 say this, “Though the fig may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will find joy in the God of my salvation.” Every Christian could paraphrase Habakkuk’s words. We have all been in situations where God seems to be absent from our need. The question is, what do we do then? Do we give up on God, or do we praise Him “even though”? Now, when I say that we give up on God, I don’t mean it in the sense that we totally reject God. We give up on God in degrees, small steps. We start to accept our circumstances, our lot in life, and we stop asking God for the life that we really want. It’s easy to give up hope, and as I said, this happens a little at a time. We stop trying. We stop asking God in prayer for things. We start to focus on other things in our lives; things that seem easier to achieve and less likely to disappoint. Don’t misunderstand, we are not always meant to have everything that we want, but when God gives you a dream and what you desire is his will, sometimes we must wait for God’s timing because his timing is perfect.
So, what can we do when it seems that God is in a holding pattern in our lives? I don’t like this answer any more than you do, but we must be patient. If you are in a time of need, continue to rejoice in the Lord and praise Him. This is why I always encourage you to have a close relationship with God and to read His Word. This walk takes faith, and the Word of God strengthens our faith. God’s Word reminds us to stay strong. The psalm that we read today: Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong. Why? Because God knows their fate. Trust in the Lord and do good, take delight in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Why? Because of God’s providence. God’s foreseeing care and guidance. Our lives are like a puzzle, an incomplete puzzle. We can piece together our past, some of it from memory and some of it from the memories of family and friends that have known us our whole lives. Now I am not a fan of puzzles, but imagine sitting at a table with all those pieces of your life in front of you. There is no box to look at; it all must come together from memory. What we ultimately find is that we can’t finish it because the future is unknown to us. The wonderful thing is this fact: God already knows what it’s going to look like; he knows how the pieces will come together; and he sees the completion of his plan for you.
How do I know that God’s providence is real? I have seen God work in my life, and I am inspired by the stories in God’s Word. The story of Joseph is so fascinating to me. God gave Joseph dreams: a wonderful dream about his future and then another dream even more spectacular than the first. From God’s point of view the dreams had two purposes. First, to reveal to Joseph what his future looked like. Second, God knew that Joseph would tell his brothers about the dreams and because his brothers were already jealous of him, they would begin the process of the dreams being fulfilled without realizing it. Joseph dreamed that his whole family would bow down before him, and it eventually happened. Not in the way that Joseph might have imagined; it all happened because of God’s providence, his foreseeing care and guidance. Terrible things happened to Joseph along the way in accordance with God’s plan. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, and his father Jacob was told that he was dead, killed, torn apart and eaten by an animal. He was sold as a slave in Egypt and eventually thrown into prison for a crime that he did not commit. God had a plan for his life. How many of us would sign up for this plan? Listen, many of you have gone through hardships, and maybe right now you are going through something awful in your life. I am not going to tell you that every cloud has a silver lining, but what I will tell you is that God has a plan for you if you belong to him.
You really need to read the story of Joseph; it will inspire you. I can’t give you all the details of how God miraculously brought Joseph out of prison and made him the overseer of the nation of Egypt, but understand this, only God could do such a miracle. Joseph went through all of that in order to be brought to a place where he could use the intelligence that God gave him to not only save his family, but all of Egypt and the surrounding nations. The next time that you are going through a difficult time or challenge in your life, ask yourself this: What is God doing in my life? You might be amazed at what awaits on the other side of your troubles. God has a wonderful plan for every follower of Jesus, and he already knows the difference that you will make for His kingdom.
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
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