Genesis 50:15-21 - Sovereign over Suffering

Genesis 50:15-21
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Message: Sovereign over Suffering

Time: Genesis is the first book and Moses is credited as authoring. The book spans 2400 years of time. It was originally written in Hebrew.

What the Lord is Saying: In this passage, it seems that Joseph's brothers now have fear, after the death of their father, that Joseph will want to pay them back (for the evil they had done to Joseph) for wrong which they did to him. But Joseph, forgives. The evil that came his way, yes it appeared evil from their standpoint, but God meant it for good. This is a simple lesson, but a profound one to realize in life. We need to trust God. We need to look to closely at the events of life and comment on them. This is hard as we have become a society of commentaries, often assuming the worst, attacking tradition, or deciding in advance that we know the outcomes. How we need to continue to wait for the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth so that we see life from His perspective.

God sees the beginning from the end. He knows the outcomes. As the title of this message states, which comes from the Tabletak devotional magazine: Sovereign Over Suffering -- it reminds me that God is sovereign over all, and this includes suffering. Through suffering we must continually trust God through the process and not so quickly beg for an immediate escape. God is doing something and it is not necessarily our job to analyze and deconstruct what is it we think God is doing in that suffering moment, but rather I am to trust Him for the outcome.

Promise: Make it a mission and goal to know the character of our Creator better so that I can better trust in His goodness and grace in the midst of all my suffering.

Prayer: O Lord, help me to trust you for outcomes. Help me to do my best and as a boss of mine said, "focus on the presentation" but don't get caught up in the outcome. Lord, you are in charge and I need to let you be in charge of my life and not feel like I must intervene at times and take control. I was reminded yesterday in a reading from Greg Koukl that even in possible arguments that arise with unbelievers or even those antagonistic towards God and Christianity, my perspective should always remain in the Gospel and preaching it and then offer an apologetic response. Help me to reside there Lord. How shortsighted I am Lord. Forgive me for not trusting You. I want to turn and believe in what you are doing.