Fighting Life's "What Ifs" - Psalm 124

The greatest mental battles we face in life never happen. You know, the wars we fight in our minds because of the “what ifs” of life. The invasion of the enemy of worry attacks everyone, some more than others. When worry invades it can be subtle, invisible, and a relentless foe bombing us with a variety of negative possibilities in life.  

The times we live in now are ground zero for these attacks to take place. Our thoughts race with the “what ifs” of the coronavirus, the ramifications of a lockdown, and the effect it will have on our economy.  Even the Center for Disease control sees the effect that the virus will have on mental health and has included a section on its website for stress and anxiety.  And if the invasions from the pandemic are not enough, now we have rioting and looting consuming major cities around the nation. Can I give you some advice? If you are looking for a career path, consider psychology.   

Unfortunately, God’s people are not immune to worry.  One meaning of worry is “to gnaw.”  Growing up, we had a dog that loved his bones.  He would gnaw on those bones all day, and afterward, he would take the bone and bury it.  The next day, he would dig up the bone and gnaw on it again.  Worry is like gnawing on a bone. We gnaw on the “what ifs” of life because worry is also a kind of fear. And how many times has God told us throughout the Bible not to fear? Therefore, it’s important that we learn to fight the “what ifs” of life that we often gnaw on.  

The Bible is replete with practical and penetrating truths for fighting this battle with worry. One particular passage caught my attention.  It’s Psalm 124. Before we look at the psalm, it is important to put it into context.  

Most scholars believe that Psalm 123 and 124 belong, if not historically, at least thematically. The reason historical context is in question is the fact that the inscription on Psalm 124 attributes the psalm to King David. However, some manuscripts don’t have his name on it, leading some scholars to believe that a scribe added the name in later years.  As a result, some scholars believe the events described take place during David’s reign, others during the time of Nehemiah, and others, King Hezekiah.  The psalm is general and can fit into either historical context.  

Thematically, there is a connection between Psalms, 123, and 124. In Psalm 123, the psalmist in crying out for God’s mercy on account of the contempt and ridicule from the enemy.  In Psalm 124 we see the testimony of God’s activity in answering the cry of the previous psalm.

We find the reason this psalm caught my attention in the first two verses. It reads, “If it had not been the Lord was on our side—let Israel now say—If it had not been the Lord who as on our side.” The emotion of these two verses is better brought out with the New Living Translation, “What if the Lord had not been on our side?”  The emotion is one of perplexity. It’s the gasp that comes from a person delivered from death or some terrible situation.  It’s the “what could have happened” emotion. 

Two years ago, my oldest daughter fell asleep while driving home. She was attending Arkansas State and was making her way back to the university. Going seventy miles an hour, her vehicle hit a guardrail, causing her to cross over the opposite side of the highway, hitting a ditch, and going airborne until she stopped in the middle of a field. I remember the evening well because I had been praying for her twenty-minutes before this happened.  

When my wife and daughter visited the site of the wreck, they experienced this same emotion.  What if she ran off the road fifty-feet earlier? She would have hit a bridge. What if there was traffic coming down the opposite side of the highway? She could have had a head-on collision. Fortunately, she came away from the wreck with no scratch and a totaled vehicle. 

The “what if” presented in this psalm is not an unhealthy “what if.” The reflection of what could have happened is healthy because they can reflect upon the positive outcomes of God’s activity in their lives. Yet, to get to the positive outcomes, one must first observe the negative possibilities.    

Reflection

Two times we see the phrase, “the Lord who was on our side.”  The speculative reflection is this: “what if God wasn’t in our lives?”  Or, “what if God wasn’t for us?”  What if all we could think about are the people and circumstances against us.  The what-ifs of negative possibilities would overtake us.  

The what-if of negative possibilities 

Take God out of the equation and here is what you will have, “when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters.”  Without God, the negative possibilities would have become realities. 

Somehow, when we are consumed with the “what ifs” of negative possibilities, we lose sight of the fact that “the Lord is on our side.” Instead, all we can see are the people and circumstances are against us. We allow the possibilities to overtake us.  

If you are often captive to negative possibilities, you are not alone.  The Bible is abounding with examples of God’s people losing sight of God. When Joseph’s brother came back from Egypt, they had to leave their brother Simeon there and bring back their brother Benjamin. When they told Jacob the situation he cried out, “Everything is going against me!” (Gen. 42:36).  This Jacob, who saw angels descending and ascending into heaven, and wrestled with God until God blessed him, could only see the circumstances against him, not the Lord who was with him.  

Elijah, after seeing the Lord consume his sacrifice with fire from heaven, and killing the prophets of Baal, could only see Jezebel against him, which caused him to run for his life, and become despairing of life to the point of wanting to die.  He could only see the “what ifs” of negative possibilities, and not the Lord who was with him.  

When we worry about the negative possibilities, it’s because of the assumed absence of God in the details of life.  The negative possibilities happen because we exclude God from the equation. However, when we reflect upon the truth that “the Lord is with us” we experience the “what ifs” of positive outcomes.  

The what-if of positive outcomes 

The imagery that the psalmist uses is very descriptive of the negative situations and circumstances we face in life. Just like Isreal, Christians have an enemy, the devil who wants to kill, steal, and destroy our lives.  When we face the troubles of life, they don’t send out a warning so we can prepare. They hit us like a Mack truck. We know this well because of experience. As a result, the “what ifs” of negative possibilities can easily overtake us. 

In verses six and seven, we read, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!”  The implication of these two verses is that we will experience situations and circumstances that are not pleasant.  We will face trials and tribulations. However, when God is in the equation of our lives, he will get us through negative experiences with positive outcomes. Fighting life’s “what ifs” require, not only proper reflection but also a proper response. 

Response

In verse six, and in verse eight, we find the proper responses to God’s activity in our lives. First, we must respond with adoration.  

Adoration

We read, in verse six, “Blessed be the Lord.” Another way to translate this phrase is, “Yahweh be worshipped.”  Why? We worship and adore the Lord because he is on our side and he delivers us from the enemies and troubles we face.  

I mentioned already that Psalm 123 and 124 are connected? Psalm 123 is a cry for help. I believe that it is referring to the time of Nehemiah and the people of God rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  While building the wall the enemy of God and his people threatened them, discouraged them. All they could see were the negative possibilities.  What did Nehemiah do? He reminded them that God was on their side. 

Notice what Psalm 123:1 says, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” They turned their eyes from the negative possibilities to the positive outcome of having the Lord on their side.  And we must do the same.  The writer of Hebrews calls us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author, and the perfector of our faith.  One of my favorite hymns goes like this: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”  We respond with adoration. We also respond with a declaration.  

Declaration

Verse eight, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Some consider this psalm to be a thanksgiving psalm. Others, myself included, consider this psalm to be a testimony psalm about God’s activity in the life of his people.  Verse eight is a declaration of God’s activity. It is a testimony. The Lord, who is on our side, the one who delivered us from the enemy, he helped us.  Nothing can come against us that is greater than the Lord who is with us. We have to respond to the “what ifs” of negative possibilities with the declaration of this truth. Finally, we respond with consecration.  

Consecration

If a declaration is our testimony of God’s help, then consecration is our submission to his help. This is the daily activity of offering our lives as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Jesus.  Our battle with the  “what ifs” of negative possibilities begins with a proper reflection, which should cause the proper responses of adoration, declaration, and consecration. Yet, a proper reflection and a proper response are ineffective if one does not have a proper relationship.  

Relationship

Throughout Psalm 124 the name used for God is Yahweh, the name for God that emphasizes covenant relationship. It is used to describe God and man in a relationship together.  Isreal was in a covenant relationship with the Lord. Therefore, because of this relationship, they could declare that God is on their side, that he was their help. 

In the same manner, for us to win the battles over life’s “what ifs,” we need a personal relationship with the Lord, made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  When we have trusted Christ and Lord and Savior, we enter a covenant relationship with the Lord.  

What does this relationship with Jesus involve? It signifies that “God is for us, and not against us” (Romans 8:31). The universe can be against us, but God, who more powerful than any opposition we encounter, is on our side.  It means that the Holy Spirit and Jesus Pray for us because God is with us. It shows God will take care of us and for us because, “He who did not spare his own Son, but freely and graciously gave him up for us all, how will he not freely and graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) It means that we are more than conquers. It determines that nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Because of the cross, God is for us, and because of the resurrection, everything will be okay in the end.

At seventeen, I experienced an automobile wreck I should have never survived. When I recall the memories of that night and consider the negative possibilities that could have occurred, I shutter. 

It was a Thursday night. I had a fake identification and an unhealthy passion for partying. Some friends and I went to a bar in Wylie, Texas called the Ranch House. During the night, the bar ran one dollar tequila shots special. I took my last ten-dollar bill and spent it on tequila. You can see where this is going.  

Dumb and inebriated, I got behind the wheel of my Toyota Truck and tried to drive home.  A mile down the road I bent over to change the radio station, but I never came back up.  The truck flipped and hit a telephone pole at the back of the truck.  I walked away from the accident without a scratch.  

I visit that night often in my mind and consider the many “what ifs” that could have happened, but didn’t. What if there was a vehicle coming from the opposite direction? What if the telephone pole broke, and the wires fell on top of my truck? But the most disturbing “what if” is this one: what if I died that night?  This “what if” makes me shutter. Why? If I died that night, I would be in hell for eternity.  I didn’t know Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  In fact, it would take five more years before I gave my life to Christ.  

What if you don’t know Jesus? What if you have never been born again? What if you were to die today? Without Christ, you would spend eternity separated from God.  The negative possibility of going to hell becomes a reality when you die without Christ.  The only positive outcome comes only by trusting Jesus and your Lord and Savior.  What will you do?  

Suffering Grace

Suffering Grace

Genesis 37:12-36

In 2004, Christopher Booker came out with his book (one that he worked on for 34 years) The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. His premise states that there are only seven basic story plots for every fictional story ever written.  Now, it is a theory, but it makes sense, and it is mind-boggling. 

What fascinates me is that every plot has one thing in common and that one thing is conflict.  Why conflict? You don’t have a story if you don’t have conflict.  In every story or plot, there should be some obstacle to overcome or some conflict. Otherwise, you don’t have a story.    

Every love story has conflict.  As a lover of everything Hallmark, I can assure you that every Hallmark movie will have a conflict before you arrive at a happy ever after ending.

Ironically, this is true of the life of Grace.  The life of grace in Christ Jesus is a love story.  As a result, the love story will experience conflict.   As a follower of Jesus, the story your life is telling will be characterized by conflict, suffering, struggles, and the like.  No suffering, no story.  No struggle, no story. 

Human tendency is to separate grace and suffering.  We live in the best life now culture.  The best life now is one of blessing and favor, but not suffering. Right?  What if I told you that the life of grace you are living would experience suffering?

When Jesus arrived in time and history, he came full of grace and truth (John 1:14).  He is the life of grace, and he lived the life of grace, and his life experienced suffering.   Think about this: God’s greatest act of grace consisted of his Son suffering for our sins. If God’s Son does not suffer for our sins so that we can have eternal life, and not condemnation, there is no story.    

The life of Joseph, whom many believe is a type of Christ, recorded in Genesis is not a story if it doesn’t have suffering and struggle.  Furthermore, the work of grace in Joseph’s life isn’t a work of grace if suffering does not characterize it.   Grace and suffering go hand in hand. 

The signs of suffering show up early in the Joseph narrative.  Mainly, with the brothers, whom it says that they hated and were jealous of Joseph, more than once (Genesis 37:4,5,8,11).  And somewhat with Jacob, the father of Joseph, after Joseph shared his dreams with him (Genesis 37:10). 

Joseph’s dreams (Genesis 37:6-7,9) are the work of God. Without the dreams, you have no story, because the story is the unfolding of the dreams.  The dream is God’s call to Joseph to live the life of Grace, and it is the dream, or shall I say the life of grace, that invites trouble and conflict.  Without the dreams, you don’t have suffering grace. 

Joseph’s grace journey unfolds with suffering because suffering accompanies the life of grace. 

1.       Suffering accompanies the life of grace

Joseph had a dream, a God-sized vision for his life and destiny.  The dreams that God gave him emboldened him and most likely fed his ego.  His pride rubbed his brothers wrong, hence, the growing hatred they had for him.  The coat that Jacob gave Joseph set him apart as the heir, even though, he was not the rightful recipient.  Joseph did not have to give himself to the mundane work of the family, so it is no surprise that Joseph is home with his father, and not tending the flock with his brothers in Shechem. 

Jacob became concerned for his sons. As a result, he sends Joseph to check on them, “Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.  And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” So he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word. So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem” (Genesis 37:12-14).  Nothing about this conversation, nor the trip to Shechem is unusual.  However, this is the beginning of a series of events in the chapter revealing how suffering accompanies the life of grace. 

The search for the brothers in Shechem proved to be empty for they were no longer in Shechem.  Fortunately, there was a man that Joseph met who overheard the brothers talking about going to Dothan.  The whole trip took about five days, but Joseph finally found his brothers in Dothan, “And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan” (Genesis 37:17).  Upon his arrival the life of grace encounters suffering.  

First, we notice Joseph’s rejection by his brothers, “They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him” (Genesis 37:18). Again in verse twenty, “Come now let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits” (Genesis 37:20).  Bitterness has taken root and is now blossoming in the hearts of Joseph’s brothers.  The verb “kill” in verse twenty is the same verb used when Cain kills Abel.  This form of rejection results in a plan to commit ruthless violence.   

Second, we notice Joseph’s abuse by his brothers, “So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.  And they took him and threw him into a pit.  The pit was empty; there was no water in it” (Genesis 37:23-24).  The verbs used in verses 23 and 24 reveal a brutal assault by the brothers.  They were planning on leaving him for dead, but God had a different plan. 

Third, we notice Joseph’s insignificance from his brothers, “Then they sat down to eat” (Genesis 37:25).  Sadly, the brothers were probably eating food that Joseph had brought for the brothers.  As Joseph lay in the pit crying and groaning and pleading, the brothers sat around the fire laughing and joking, doing all they could to drown out the sounds of the dreamer.  

Joseph’s rejection, abuse, and indifference are consequences of living the life of grace. Suffering will accompany the life of grace.  It was true of Joseph, and it is true of every follower of Jesus Christ.  

Our suffering and trials will vary because of sin and sinners. Trials will come through rejection, abuse, indifference, jealousy, hatred, sickness, and the like.  At times the suffering seems cruel and brutal, especially when you understand that God allows suffering to accompany the life of grace.  And it would be cruel and brutal if God did not use suffering to accomplish the plan of grace.

2.       Suffering accomplishes the plan of grace

What is interesting about the story of Joseph is the absence of God, or so it seems, and yet God is still the hero of the story.  The only indication of God in the story are the two dreams that Joseph received from the Lord; divine dreams that set the narrative of Joseph in motion.  The story is God fulfilling the dreams.  God is at work bringing the plan of grace to fulfillment.  The suffering and disaster experienced by Joseph move beyond cruel events to works of grace.  

Everything that happens in this chapter reveals the providence of God.  Every event that happens does so to accomplish God’s plan of grace revealed in the dreams.  Every series of seeming coincidences are the handy work of God, even though God never speaks, is never referred to, and seems completely absent. 

God is working out every detail of the dreams in this chapter.  If these things didn’t happen the way they did, then everybody dies because of the famine that was coming to the land. Not only does the whole family die, but the whole world dies because the messianic line dies in the famine. 

Here is the point that is important to note.  God’s plan of grace for you is completely compatible with the terrible discouragements, disappointments, and situations happening to you.   In other words, God uses sin and suffering to fulfill his plan of grace. 

The greatest example of this is Jesus Christ.  God predetermined before the foundation of the world that he would send his Son to die for our sins.  God would accomplish this through the sinful actions of religious leaders of Jesus’ day.  When they yelled, “Crucify Him,” they were in tools in the hand of God, fulfilling the eternal purposes of God in Christ Jesus.  Peter, in his Pentecost sermon, declared, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23).   Man’s evil fulfills God’s plan.  

Back to you and me.  God can use the failure, disappointment, discouragement, and suffering in our lives to bring about his plan of grace.  It’s why Paul wrote these inspired words, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  What’s the purpose? In a nutshell, “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). 

There is great comfort in knowing God’s working out his plan even though you feel like God is absent, or has abandoned you. We are more than conquerors, even when we don’t feel like it. I’m sure Joseph had his moments of total despair, as do all who are living the life of Grace. 

Satan hates this valuable truth.  He hates it when God takes what is evil and uses it to serve his righteous purposes.  He hates the fact that God uses wicked people as his tools, allowing us the freedom to choose evil, while God uses his freedom to create goodness out of that evil. 

God uses suffering to accomplish his plan of grace.  Therefore,  in the long run, God always wins.  However, in the short run, the suffering in our lives can be uncomfortable.  Fortunately, God uses suffering to accentuate the experience of grace. 

3.       Suffering accentuates the experience of grace

Suffering and grace go hand in hand.  I know this truth doesn’t’ fit well with prosperity gospel people, but it is a reality.  God uses suffering in the lives of his children to highlight his grace.  Suffering becomes a means for experiencing more of God’s grace. 

The apostle Paul fleshed out the theology of suffering and God’s grace well with his own life experiences in 2 Corinthians.  In the fourth chapter, he wrote, “So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is waisting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal glory beyond comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).  God uses suffering to showcase the power of his sustaining grace.  Again, in chapter twelve, Paul speaks of his “thorn in the flesh” and how God would not remove it.  Instead, the Lord would use Paul’s suffering to highlight his grace, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).  In suffering, God demonstrates his powerful grace.   

No greater example of this truth than the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of God’s grace.  We can have eternal life, and avoid eternal damnation.  It is a gift that we must receive by faith.  However, what accentuates and makes the gift of grace possible is the suffering Christ did on our behalf. 

There’s a story, not sure how accurate it is, of a missionary who served many years working with an African tribal people.  When it came time for him to retire and go back home to the states, many of the African people brought gifts to him before he departed.  One of the men brought him a shell, one attained by several weeks journey from the village.  The missionary commented on the journey it took to get the shell.  The African tribesman said, “The journey was part of the gift.”

We don’t like to think of suffering as a gift, but God’s uses suffering in the journey of grace for his glory.  Therefore, don’t waste your suffering. Don’t waste your cancer. Don’t waste your unemployment. Don’t waste your divorce. Don’t waste your failure.  Realize that God uses suffering to accomplish his plan of grace, and accentuates the experience of grace in the midst of suffering. 

Grace Invasion

Invading Grace

Genesis 37:1-11

Introduction:

Over the past two years, the story of Joseph has been on my mind. Mainly because of what I have been experiencing in my personal life.  During this two year period, I have of often wondered what God was doing.  I have many disappointments and hurts that have plagued me, and discouragement and depression have been my companions.  How does the story of Joseph fit into my experience?

Joseph’s story reveals the power and providence of God, not by grand miracles, or extraordinary divine interventions, but by the sovereign work of God in everyday details of life.  Sin and suffering characterize the narrative of Joseph, but in the midst it all, God’s grace is evident. 

When looking at the story of Joseph, it is alluring to use it as a means of living a godly life.  It’s full of principles for living the good life, or shall I say the God life.  Joseph’s life reveals how to overcome envy, face adversity, resist sexual temptations, forgive those who wrong, and many other lessons.  Though Joseph is the impetus of the story, his father, Jacob is still the dominant character. 

The chapter begins as such, “Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.  These are the generations of Jacob” (Genesis 37:1-2).  The subsequent verses and chapters are prominent with Joseph, but still include the rest of Jacob’s sons as well. 

Ultimately, however, the story of Joseph and the rest of Jacob’s sons is about God working grace out in the lives of those he has chosen.   The Joseph story is about  God’s grace transforming Jacob’s sons into worthy covenant partners.  The story begins with hatred and jealousy between brothers and ends with them loving one another, a tremendous work of Grace, unparalleled grace. 

Grace is at work in all of our lives, believers, and unbelievers, whether we recognize it, or not.  For the unbeliever, there is common grace, but for the believer, grace moves beyond the common to something special, effectual, and unconditional; a grace that is unparalleled in human history.  What’s incredible about God’s unparalleled grace is how it invades the messiness of life. 

1.       Grace invades the messiness of life

Within these first eleven verses you will find the hidden depths of sin, but as the story unfolds, the sin comes to the surface.  It safe to say that Jacob’s family is dysfunctional, as is every family that is under the bondage of sin.   The messiness of Jacob’s family reveals three things.

First, we find the messiness spiritual pride or self-righteousness.  Verse 2, “These are the generations of Jacob.  Joseph being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.”  Because there is no overt criticism of Joseph’s sin, many scholars have portrayed Joseph almost without sin.  However, that is a failure of understanding what kind of report he brought back to his father.  

The Hebrew word for “bad” can also translate “evil.”  In almost every other context you find the word used it has the meaning of “evil,” or “untrue.”  Now, the report that Joseph gave his father was probably true to some degree but filled with exaggerations and half truths.   Consumed with spiritual pride, you become blind to your sin and only see the sin in others.  Believe it or not, Joseph is on an evil path.  He’s becoming arrogant, and possibly even a mean and cruel person.  Joseph is becoming a “good-boy sinner.” 

Second, we find the messiness ungodly favoritism.  Notice verse 3, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.”   Sadly, Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons.  Of all people, you would think that Jacob would not show that type of favoritism as a father.  For he, himself, grew up desperately deprived of his Father’s love.  Isaac overtly loved Esau more than he loved Jacob.  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

Jacob gave Joseph a robe of many colors.  The robe symbolized love lavished on Joseph, a love kept from the other sons.  Some how, Joseph became an idol in Jacob’s life.  Joseph became the central source of joy and love in Jacob’s life, and as a result, it poisoned the whole family. 

Third, we find the messiness of hate and jealousy.  Notice who the brothers responded to Joseph.  In verse 4, “they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” Verse 8, “So they hated him even more for his dreams and his words.” Verse 11, “And his brothers were jealous of him.”  Yep, one big mess of sin.  But let’s face it, all of us are one big mess of sin. 

Good news! It is in the messiness of sin where grace becomes unparalleled.  Most preachers want to moralize the stories of the Bible as a way for us to live godly lives.  You know, five steps to having your best life now, or three keys to a great marriage.  However, the purpose of the stories throughout the Bible is, primarily, to show how God’s grace invades our sinfulness and brokenness,  which we can't overcome otherwise.  That’s the good news! That’s the gospel! 

One look at the passage and you might say, “Where is God in all of this mess?” or “Where is Grace?”  God is at work behind the scenes, so to speak, working out his great plan.  For the dreams that Joseph had were from God, grace invasions, assuring God’s people the destiny for their lives.  Grace assures destiny for life. 

2.       Grace assures the destiny for life

Joseph has two dreams, “Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

The dreams reveal God’s grace invasion.  God is at work.  God is calling a sinful man to become a leader for his people.  If you look closely, you find no mention of God.  God never speaks, but he is working, grace is working.  The two dreams, in essence, predict the end of the story, and one that ends well.  The reason for two dreams is important.  Two dreams reveal that what is going to happen is firmly decided by God, and God will do it.  In other words, God is assuring the destiny of his people, the advancement of his kingdom.    Furthermore, the dreams reveal the destiny of the whole family.  God will fulfill that which he has promised.  You can take it to the bank. 

Not only is God assuring the destiny of his people, but he reveals he will radically fulfill it.  You have to put these two dreams in historical context to realize the radical nature of God’s plan.  In both of the dreams, the older brothers, and the parents are all bowing down to Joseph.  This bowing down goes against the basic social structure of the day. 

The society of Jacob and Joseph was extremely hierarchical and patriarchal.  The younger always bow to the parents, and to the older, especially the oldest.  The oldest son was the one who got the inheritance, and therefore, the younger bow to the oldest. But these dreams turn this social structure upside down.  These dreams are radically socially subversive. 

What God is saying in these dreams is that he is going to fulfill his plan by doing what society says is impossible.  He is going to bring transformation to his people is the way that goes against social norms.  In other words, God’s destiny will be carried out in a way that is counter to what society says is possible. 

Grace assures God’s people of their future glory.  Everything may be screaming impossible, but God says he will do it. He works out his destiny and plans even when it seems that all his hopeless.  Grace invades our messy lives, and assures us, in our mess, that God’s destiny and dream for his people will come to pass.  And assurance is what God’s people need because grace attracts opposition to life. 

3.       Grace attracts opposition to life

Grace and sin are at work in these verses and the subsequent verses.  Grace is the backdrop of the tangled web of sin that we see in these verses.  Pride from the ideal son, hatred, bitterness, and jealousy from the bad-boy sons, and misplaced favoritism from dad are at the forefront on the canvas of God’s unparalleled grace.  The grace invasion given through divine dreams assures God’s plan, but it’s not without opposition. 

The morass of human sin opposes the work of Grace.  First, we have the pride of Joseph, that, if unchecked, would keep the great plan of God from moving forward.  Somehow, in his sovereignty, God uses his sin to bring about his plan, for his pride would set the scene for rejection.  Second, we have the bitterness of the brothers that hate Joseph with a passion. Again, God will use their bitterness to fulfill his destiny for his children. 

In our own lives, as God fulfills his destiny for our lives, we will face opposition from sin.  If you are like me, most of the complications I have come from my sin. I constantly have to battle pride and self-righteousness.  Many times, I am like Joseph’s brothers, and I reject the plan that God has for me simply because it goes against the norm, or it’s not done the way I want it done.  

Good news! In spite of the opposition to grace, God sustains us through it all in Christ.  Following Christ and allowing grace to work in your life does not mean that life will get easier.  It assures you a complicated life, but a life that is abundant and fulfilled in Christ Jesus.  

Gifts From God

Sometimes in the midst of intense struggles God will send you gifts to let you know that he hears you, and he is with you. Last week, God gave me two gifts all in one day. I was prayer walking early one morning and found myself wresting with regrets about past decisions. I was struggling with those decisions and wondering if I could move forward in my walk with God. While I am crying out to God in prayer, a song comes on my headphones that basically gave the answer I needed. The song was "The Blood" by Shane and Shane. It speaks about how the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. The moment the song started playing, I knew it was from God. It was his way of saying, "I love you, and I forgive you. Move forward." I started weeping with joy knowing that God was working in me and conforming me into the image of his Son.

Another struggle I was having in my prayer time was my preaching. I must admit that the last few months I have been under attack in the area of preaching. Some of the attacks have been external, and others internal. Within an hour of my prayer struggle with God, I received an email that I knew was a gift from God, one that encouraged me to persevere in my preaching.

I have decided to start praying for God to send little gifts to others just to let them know that he hears them and is with them.