Where Was God When...

 

 

“If we come to see the purpose of the universe as God’s long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of evil and suffering.” –Randy Alcorn 

Hmmm...kinda hits you in the gut, doesn’t it? I mean, most of my prayers are directly connected with my natural tendency to gravitate toward desiring happiness. Don’t yours? 

But what if, my temporary angst (I love that word, “angst” it was not in my vocabulary before I had young adult “children” but in this season of my life--it has become a favorite of mine!)...What if, my temporary “angst” and my momentary trouble--my discomfort, trial, confusion and frustration were all necessary in order for me to be used by God to bring about something great?! 

Would it be worth it then?

Yes. It. Would.

Wouldn’t it? 

Especially if you were to remember that He is the LOVER of your soul. Especially also if you were to remember that His love is perfect. So is His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, ways (be they ever so unusual), work, and...timing.

Not only does God do all things well, but He also sustains you in the MEAN--time.

 

 

 

How many of you memorized Jeremiah 29:11 and tethered yourself to its wonderful promise as a teenager? 

I did. Who, in their right mind wouldn’t? 

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11 

I love that God’s got a plan and that He knows it well.

I love even more that His plan involves prospering me and not harming me! 

Plans that give me hope and a future are the best plans ever! 

When I read Jeremiah 29:11 I imagine a life filled with healthy relationships, meaningful and satisfying work, life-giving families who get along with one another, children who fulfill every desire their parents could have for them, health, a bit of wealth, and a whole lot of living “happily ever after!” 

Only God’s plans don’t always unfold the way my imagination predicts that they will.   One of the best ways to make the most of life is to have a solid understanding of how God’s plans often roll out. Many times (more often than not), God’s plans involve seasons of detours, setbacks, and disappointment--perhaps even a bit of pain and suffering. Be sure to remember that the meantime—that period of time that exists between God’s promise and His fulfillment of it—is the main time for you to grow in your faith. 

God is more aware than we are that we live in a fallen world. He factors evil, sin and suffering into His plans (they are unavoidable even for God’s children). He also makes allowances for our “mere dust”-i-ness. Therefore, His plans are working plans...sometimes messy plans...even involving seasons of suffering plans. But always...in the end...His are good plans that prosper us, and never harm us (at least not in the eternal scheme of things), and His plans never fail to deliver us hope and a future! 

Let’s let Joseph illustrate for us how God’s plans work.

  Joseph’s story is found in Genesis 37, 39-50. As always, I tend to embellish the retelling of these stories so I encourage you to take the time to read it word for word in your copy of the Bible. But since this is my email, I get to tell my version.

  Joseph was 17 when we first meet him and discover that he was his father’s favorite. We’re told that Joseph was favored by his father Jacob because he was born to him in his old age. 

Isn’t that great? Now, I would have never understood how Jacob’s old age mattered had I not become a “Nana” in my “old age.” Not that 47 is old for a Nana but I can only imagine the spoiling I might have done to a child of my own at this stage of my life! When Misty (my now 8-year-old granddaughter) was about six months old, Mikel and I enjoyed taking her shopping. One of our favorite outings was to Target where we could find an assortment of age-appropriate toys. In my book, playing is Misty’s job, and I want her to be well equipped to do a good job. On one of our Target outings, every toy Mikel and I showed Misty resulted in this reaction: First, she flexed her arms and legs, then she curled her toes, after that her entire body shook with delight as documented by a great big smile on her gorgeous face. It was as if we’d just shown her the very thing that gave her the absolute most joy in the whole wide world! 

 To this day (almost) Misty simply brings whatever her heart desires to me and I put it in the cart! Honey, if I’d had my own children at the age I am now they’d be even more rotten than they already are. Grandchildren get to have the spoiling! They just do because we have them in our “old age!” 

  But, I digress. Joseph was not only his father’s favorite, but he was also a tattletale. He was the one who always ran back and yelled, “Daddy, did you know that Dan and Gad were smoking behind the bushes?”

  There are several coats mentioned in Scripture and Joseph was wearing one of them. His Dad gave it to him because he loved him and his brothers hated him for it. Genesis 37:4 says,

“When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”

  So, Joseph never was a part of the brotherhood. Brothers can be terribly cruel—but even if they do make you fall flat on your face when you leap from a tree in complete confidence that they will be just below to catch you (something that Tom’s brother did to him)—when push comes to shove they will ALWAYS stand up for you. My husband, Tom is the youngest of four boys and he can attest to this ancient truth. But that was not the case with Joseph’s brothers. They hated him. To make matters worse, Joseph had some dreams. And although God gave him some incredible dreams, God didn’t give Joseph the good sense to keep those dreams to himself,

  “Hey guys, listen to the dream I just had. We were harvesting the grain out in the fields when suddenly, my sheaf of grain rose and stood upright while all ya’ll’s gathered around and bowed down!” 

  And when Joseph shared his dream, his brothers hated him all the more! Can’t you just imagine the merciless teasing Joseph got as a result of sharing his dream? Then he had another dream. Don’t share it Joseph!! Not a good idea!!! But no…Joseph, all excited about the possibilities of a glorious future, decided to share his enthusiasm with his brothers,

  “You’re not gonna believe this, but I had another dream…”

  I think I’m feeling sick one brother said to another.

  “….only this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

  Even Joseph’s father rebuked him for this dream, “Are you saying that even your mother and I AND your 11 brothers are ALL going to bow down to you?!” 

  But, Genesis 37:11 tells us that while Joseph’s brothers were eat up with jealousy, his father “kept the matter in mind.” Now, I don’t know about you—but as a parent there are some matters that happen in my children’s lives that I “keep in mind.” When I first wrote these words (these emails are from my book A Woman’s Guide to Hearing God’s Voice) my son was finishing up a summer of campaigning for a TN state house congressional candidate. TJ knocked on most every door in the Thompson Station/Spring Hill community. Hardly a day went by when I didn’t receive an email or a Facebook message from a church member or community friend bragging on my son. I was “keeping this in mind.” When TJ was a toddler we took him out for ice cream. While we waited on Dad to get our treats to the table, TJ went visiting the others enjoying their ice cream in the parlor. He walked from table to table saying this, “Hi, I’m TJ, what’s yours name?” One customer exclaimed, “he’s either going to be a preacher or a politician when he grows up.” I’ve “kept that in mind.” 

  So Joseph shared his dreams and Jacob “kept them in mind.” 

What have you “kept in mind” over the years concerning your children or grandchildren? These things might give you hints as to what God is headed toward somewhere in the future.

Some of you might be like me, and the things you’ve kept in mind seem to be going full speed in the wrong direction. 

 

 

 

Thus far Joseph’s lived a charmed life. His father Jacob dotes on him like a grandchild, he wears a beautiful coat, has incredible dreams and life is good. All God’s plans He has for him are unfolding nicely, just as young, teenaged Joseph imagined they would. And then...those plans God has started working outside and beyond Joseph’s wildest dreams. Let’s pick up our story where we left off last week.

Dreams or no dreams, as with what happens in many families to this day—the undercurrent of jealousy, frustration, and ill will culminated one day when Joseph was sent by his father to go check on his brothers. Unlike the day that David’s father sent him to check on his brothers, Joseph was NOT about to take a giant down. No…the giant of jealousy was about to toss Joseph in a pit. And to the human eye, Joseph’s life was about to take a tailspin as far away from God’s promises (as hinted at in Joseph’s dreams) as he could possibly be.

  But let me remind you here that just like David, God was meticulously and methodically working His plans and His purposes in Joseph’s life.

  Isaiah 55:8-11 say this,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

  As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” 

  God’s Got This! 

  He knows things--things we don’t know.

God factors in those things we’d rather ignore--things like jealousy, anger, poor judgment, selfishness, and pure evil.

Remember the question we’ve been asking these past few months? Where was God when…? 

Here is the first answer to our question: Where was God when Joseph was in the pit? He was right there with him! Only God was thinking higher thoughts; managing higher ways and making certain that the “word” that came to Joseph in the form of a couple crazy dreams would indeed achieve the purpose He intended for it to achieve.

  Where is God in your pit? He’s in there with you—thinking higher thoughts and navigating better ways. He is even now making sure that the promises He’s made to you will achieve His purposes.

Perhaps now is a good time for you to consider the fact that God knows things...things you don’t know.

Now is also a good time to think about the fact that God knows EVERYthing! 

Could it be possible, that because God knows EVERYthing, He knows what He’s doing right now? 

I think now is a really good time for us to make a confession to God about these things…

Lord, we acknowledge that You know things we don’t know. You know all about (mention the specific things that are on your heart right now). You hold our future in the palm of Your hands. We humbly confess that we can’t begin to have the discernment, understanding and knowledge that You have without You giving it to us. We choose to trust whatever it is that You are up to--and we determine to seek Your perspective rather than spending our precious time together giving you ours. Oh God, please teach us to align our hearts and minds with Yours when we pray. Amen. 

Well, AMEN! 

 

 

 

 

Let’s continue our story, shall we? 

  Poor Joseph; I know that he knew his brothers hated him—he had to know! But most likely, being the golden child of the tribe, he refused to entertain the possibility that anything could separate him from the privileged life of favor that he’d grown to appreciate. But now...NOW, that he’s wading in the mud amongst the worms and spiders, he’s facing the stark reality of the terrible side of life.

  I can relate to Joseph. 

  Before 2010, I actually had people tell me that my life was a fairytale. They told me that I lived the life others dreamt of and that I couldn’t possibly relate to them and their troubles because I’d never had very many of my own. And they were mostly right. Up until 2010, I had very few troubles at all. (Since then, I’m afraid I’ve gone from the fairytale life to the Shakespearean tragedy flying right past where other people felt like they could relate to me!) 

  I am of the mind now that because of that fairy tale, the pits are even nastier. Children that wear decorated robes are not accustomed to mud, centipedes, and salamanders. They have no training for life when it isn’t served up on a silver platter. Beautifully ornamented coats are NOT designed for slavery!!  Joseph was no doubt bewildered, UNDONE and devastated by the cruel reality of life when he bumped his bum on the wet bottom of that pit.

  It was Rueben’s idea to put him there. While we see it as Joseph’s worst possible scenario—it was much better than being dead, and had Rueben not suggested the pit—his brothers surely would have killed him. Only Rueben must’ve had to go to the bathroom or find a lost sheep or do something that took him away from his brothers. For when the Ishmaelites came along  Judah suggested they turn their brother into profit and sell him rather than kill him. So, Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver.

  Let’s pause here for a moment and recognize the irony of Joseph being sold to the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites were actually distant relatives of Joseph and his brothers. Their forefather was Abraham! Only the Ishmaelites were descended from Ishmael—Sarah’s failed attempt to help God keep his promise to her husband. Don’t you find it a bit ironic that Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites? It was as if some power of darkness, let’s just come right out and call him Satan was rubbing salt in an old wound!! 

  The Ishmaelites were NOT A PART OF THE PROMISE OF GOD.  Spiritual battles are being fought all the time. And because Joseph had already shared his dreams of how God was going to do great and mighty things in his life, the devil was onto him. I think that the devil wanted to take Joseph out—to wipe away his faith and strip away his dreams. So, while any kind of foreigner might have traveled through Dothan that evening, it was the Ishmaelites…NOT A PART OF THE PROMISE people!

  Do you feel as if your dreams have been sold to the imposter….the NOT A PART OF THE PROMISE OF GOD? Were you living your life headed toward the fulfillment of your dreams only to be thrown into a slimy pit, then sold to the “NOT God’s plan” and driven full speed in the opposite direction?! Are your hopes being driven to Egypt by Ishmaelites? NOT EGYPT!! That is in the opposite direction of all that God has promised me!! Canaan was Joseph’s promised land! NOT EGYPT!

I wish I were telling you the story of Joseph for the very first time so you’d be sitting on the edge of your seat holding your breath for what comes next. Because that’s where we find ourselves in our lives today.

You’re diagnosed with cancer, or alzheimer’s, ms, or some strange sounding illness that leaves you trapped in a body that is far less able to function in this world than it was than it was before.

Your son or daughter--the one who surrendered their life to missions is chasing after illusions and humanistic mumbo-jumbo. And...they certainly don’t want to hear you encourage them to go back to church! 

Speaking of church, perhaps that’s where the Ishmaelites have come...Your church--the one that’s nurtured you, grown you, loved you through some of the worst times in your life, is going through a split. People are mad and hurt, and not talking to one another.

Or maybe it’s your marriage! And the Ishmaelite was wearing a red dress (or nothing at all), and you’re trying to pick up the pieces and believe for redemption, a miracle--good plans, hope and a future! 

Whatever it is--know this...God’s never met an Ishmaelite He can’t use for His own good pleasure. Hold on for the ride, it might get a whole lot worse before it gets better, but you serve a PROMISE KEEPING GOD! 

Can I just say, I LOVE YOU?! 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, back to Joseph. 

Where was God when Joseph was sold into slavery? He was nodding His head and whispering in Joseph’s disillusioned ears, 

  “For I know the plans I have for you,…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you…and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

Here we are again, back at that verse we love so much! Have you ever wondered about what was going on with the nation of Israel when God first gave them these words? He spoke them through the prophet Jeremiah, and because of their stubborn sin, God allowed the Babylonians to defeat them and carry them off into exile for 70 years. It was during these 70 years that God told them that He refused to give up on them.

We are borrowing these words some thousands of years AFTER this happened, Joseph borrowed them some hundreds of years BEFORE this happened. (This is how God’s Word becomes living and active.) 

Take a minute to consider what God was doing in Joseph’s life:

• God was making sure that Rueben had enough conscience to suggest putting Joseph in a pit when his brothers were raging for blood! 
• God was appealing to Judas’ greed when the Ishmaelites “just happened” to be traveling smack dab through Dothan so that Joseph would be sold into slavery and make his way to Egypt.
• Joseph might have thought that God had gone somewhere else that day, but God was meticulously and methodically seeing to it that even what the devil meant for harm would be transformed to good. 

  Where is God on your journey into exile? He is whispering in your ear… “I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future…”

    We have the advantage of knowing what’s coming next in Joseph’s story, but when Joseph was taken to Egypt—he didn’t know. If we could sit nearby and hear him that night when the Ishmaelites were asleep this is what we might hear him say,

  “Oh God! I miss my Dad! How could my brothers have done such a thing? What kind of evil does this? YOU promised me!!! What about the bowing sheaves and stars? THIS is NOT a good idea! These plans don’t prosper me!”

  I don’t know that Joseph did that, but I did! I spent weeks and months arguing with God that the pit, those blasted Ishmaelites and then Egypt WERE NOT in keeping with the plans that were promised me in Jeremiah 29:11.

  But thankfully this was not the end of Joseph’s story, and if you find yourself in this place tonight—it’s not the end of yours either.

   Joseph’s journey continued…after being taken to Egypt the Ishmaelites sold Joseph to Potipher, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. This is where Joseph begins to teach us a valuable lesson. If we continue with our question, “Where was God when Joseph was sold to Potipher?” Then Genesis 39:2 answers that question:

“The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”

  By the time Joseph arrived in Potipher’s service, he determined to live in the present moment. I learned in a “Hope Works” workshop that abundant life is experienced in the present. 

…not in the past…and not in the future, but in the present.

  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

  If we keep our minds in the past we let regret, remorse, grief, and shame consume the blessings God pours on us today. 

Don’t do that! 

  If we let our minds spill over into the future we are bombarded with anxiety, fear and dread over what we imagine might happen there and again we miss the presence of—and the power of God in our today. 

Don’t do that!

Jesus said, “I have come to give you life, abundant and full.” (John 10:10) 

  That life is today!

This is such a great thing to keep in mind. Life is lived in the present. 

 

Let’s make this work in our lives this week. Clean Mrs. Potipher’s floors, and serve Captain Potipher with all you’ve got. 

God’s Got This! And every step of the way He’s working meticulously and methodically to bring about His good plans.

 

 

 

 

  I cannot begin to tell you how powerful this discipline of living in the present moment is. For Joseph, it not only blessed him (Genesis 39:6 tells us that Joseph didn’t have a care in the world except having to decide what to eat for dinner.), but it also blessed the ones that were in the present moment with him. All of Potipher’s house was blessed with Joseph.

  God gave me this truth one morning when Tom and I were praying for our children:

  If we truly believe that God is intimately acquainted with our deepest desires and that His sovereignty rules the details of our lives we would rest in our current circumstances no matter what they are.

  I believe that Joseph embraced this truth. For when Mrs. Potipher tried to seduce him and Joseph was wrongly accused of attempted rape and then thrown into prison, 

  …the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. Genesis 39:21

  My friends…Joseph couldn’t do anything about his jealous brothers. He couldn’t change them, he couldn’t talk them out of their evil schemes; nor could he gain a thing by wondering how they could have been so different having been raised in the same home. Joseph could not win when accused of assaulting Potipher’s wife. I would imagine that even Potipher knew the truth; but what was he to do? Favor a slave over his own wife?! But Joseph could accept the fact that God was intimately acquainted with his deepest desires, and he would accept the fact that God’s sovereignty ruled the details of his life. Therefore, even in the dungeons of Egypt, Joseph could rest (and prosper). 

  I love this story of Joseph. For although he was chosen by God for GREATNESS, he was mistreated,  slandered, and cheated. But rather than waste his energy trying to change others; or spinning his wheels whining over God’s apparent neglect, Joseph instead chose to trust God. And when Joseph accepted the fact that life simply “is what it is” (or perhaps a better way to say this would be to say that life is what God allows it to be) Joseph found rest in his current circumstances. 

  When we learn the secret of truly believing that God is intimately acquainted with our deepest desires and that His sovereignty rules the details of our lives we WILL rest in our current circumstances:

• whether we are sleeping in our father’s house wrapped in a beautiful robe; 
• enjoying the wealth and privilege of Egypt’s prosperous citizens
• OR laying on the cold hard floor of a damp dungeon.

  Where was God when Joseph was in that prison? He was right there with him. Not only meticulously and methodically working out the plans He’d made long before Joseph was ever born, but also preparing Joseph to assume a very important role in all of Egypt. 

  God may have you in your prison today because that prison is the only place you will learn the skills, compassion, and incredible truths that will sustain you when He elevates you to a position of authority in your future. Don’t waste your prison time pining over what shoulda, woulda, coulda been. Don’t exhaust your energy painting pictures of what might be. Simply LIVE in the present moment and anticipate the abundance of God’s promises as He appropriates them to you at this moment. 

   Expect God to be there, in that prison with you, fulfilling His WORD in your life: 

  And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Have you watched the movie Joseph King of Dreams? Take a minute to enjoy this clip, Joseph King of Dreams video clip

We know where this story’s going--can we also know what God’s up to in our lives as well?! 

 

 

 

 

Time to finish Joseph's story:

  You know the rest of the story…the baker and the taster were thrown into prison with Joseph and they both had dreams. They woke up and were eager to figure out what their dreams meant. The taster shared his dream first and Joseph told him that his prison visit was soon to come to an end. The baker was encouraged by the taster’s dream and so he shared his dream too. Unfortunately for the baker, his interpretation was NOT as favorable as that of the taster and 3 days later the baker died and the taster resumed his service to Pharaoh. (Just as Joseph had predicted.) 

  Although Joseph had asked the taster to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, the taster forgot all about him.  Joseph’s hopes were dashed, and he entered a season of silence and waiting. This is perhaps worse than the pit. The pit is terrible—there’s no doubt about that, but the silence and monotony of living day in and day out without a glimmer of hope reassuring you that God is on it—might even be worse. For two years Joseph lived those kinds of days. 

Two years. That’s a lot of days. A lot of hours. A whole lot of minutes. 

  But eventually, Pharaoh had a dream too. Long story short, the taster suddenly remembered the man who was a great interpreter of dreams and Joseph came out of his cell. You know the rest…Pharaoh did indeed make Joseph second only to himself. Joseph lived the life of favor he was destined to live-- a life he’d known well, and eventually, his own family bowed down to him just like Joseph’s dreams said they would many years before.

  So what does all this mean to you today? 

• if you are in a pit…
• if the Ishmaelites (not a part of God’s promise) are taking you far from the place you know God means for you to be…
• if Mrs. Potipher has accused you of wrong-doing and you are living in a dungeon forgotten by the one person who has the ability to get you out…

  No matter where you are—no matter what is going on---God is meticulously and methodically working, He’s working behind the scenes, in the midst of the scenes, in spite of the scenes. 

God’s Got This! 

  But don’t miss this final truth. All this—Joseph’s dream and his journey were not about Joseph at all. This entire plan was designed in the heart of God to save the people of Israel from the famine caused by a 7-year drought (remember I told you a drought would be part of this story! This is that part!) 

God used Joseph, and his wicked brothers, and the Ishmaelites and the Potipher’s, the taster and the baker and Pharaoh so that God could keep a promise He’d made to Abraham a long time ago. 

Why? 

Because God always keeps His promises!  

What God is doing in your life…is not just about you. Today He is not only making sure that He keeps every promise He has ever made to you…but He is also still keeping the promises He made to Abraham. And what exactly was that promise? 

  Genesis 12:2-3, “I will bless you and you will be a blessing.”

  God is blessing you even now in your pit. And you will be a blessing. As you allow God to complete the good work He began in you; you will be a blessing to others. 

  I had coffee with a friend a while back. She has had many more pits in her life than I have had in mine. So when she said what I’m about to share with you—I want you to know that she was completely authorized to share it. This is what she told me.

  “Leighann, you’ve got to stop complaining about the absurdity of your situation and instead allow God to use you in it. This has become your platform. Use it to bring Him glory.”

  I know that many of your platforms were not of your choosing. Who would possibly want to be going through what you’re going through? 

  Some of you are still being led toward Egypt by your Ishmaelites. But, when you get there, and when you are able to come to a place where you know, you know you know:

…that God is right there beside you in your pit—bringing his higher thoughts and ways…

…that He still knows the plans He has for your life—that they are for your good (and not to harm you)…

And when you know you know you know that the life you live today can be full of not only God’s provision but also His abundance then, the time will come when you can say with Joseph, 

“…but God intended [this pit] for good. [He had in mind all along] to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

 

 

 

Don’t forget to read Joseph’s story in Genesis 37, 39-50. I took quite a few liberties. Oh, and here’s a great clip of Joseph reuniting with his brothers at the end. Joseph Reuniting with His brothers 

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Leighann