Sermon Cloud

You know that life is unfair. I don’t have to prove it to you. People are mean, situations go against us, other people get the job we want, and most times the football bounces away from us, not to us. Think about your own life for a second. Focus on remembering one circumstance that was grossly unfair or unfortunate.

When I was in seventh grade, I decided to follow in my big brother’s footsteps and I became a safety patrol for our bus. Now in seventh grade I weighed 70 lbs. and stood about 4 ft, 11 inches. Hardly the “bouncer” type. Just so I would know my place, everyday after school, the ninth grade boys on my bus would go through a ritual. After the bus left, and when no one else was around, they would grab me and hang my orange vinyl safety belt on the lowest rung step of the telephone pole. Only I would still be in

the safety belt. They would suspend me up on that hook for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, and then eventually they’d let me down. Harmless fun, right? It was not only humiliating, and embarrassing; but there was nothing I could do to prevent it. This went on for many weeks until it got boring – for them.

The story of Joseph is a tale of blessings and curses, a tale of pride and humiliation, a tale of God’s protection, and other people’s deception. All the while God was working in Joseph’s life to get him to the one place he was meant to be, the second in command of the great empire of Egypt. And now that we know the end of the story, we can look back at each step, and though it was terrible, and unfair, and he was falsely accused, and falsely imprisoned, still he managed to survive each ordeal.

The problem for us is that when we are going through a tough time, when we are going through a separation in our marriage, when we are going through chemotherapy and radiation for cancer, when we are sitting long hours with a loved one who is sick or in the hospital, when we are spending months in the unemployment line, we feel like God has abandoned us, and that no one cares anymore, and that our lives are going down the toilet.

Joseph had all these dreams of greatness, but his brothers didn’t want to see him succeed, so they got rid of him. Potiphar was pleased with his work, but Mrs. Potiphar wanted him to please her. When he refused to comply with her seduction, she got mad and ruined his life. When he succeeded in telling people the meaning of their dreams he asked them to help get him out of jail, but they promptly forgot him.

The story of Joseph has always been my personal favorite story of the whole Old Testament. The reason is because of Joseph’s attitude. He had setback after setback. But instead of moping about and being angry he took where he was at that moment and made the best of it. He had a positive attitude about everything, and it rubbed off on others around him. It also benefitted him greatly. Instead of being mad about being sold into slavery, he worked hard, and God blessed him, and everything he did prospered. He got noticed for both his hard work and his skills, and recognized for his wisdom. Potiphar put him in charge of his entire house.

When he was thrown in jail after being falsely accused, he didn’t mope around and feel sorry for himself because life stinks. He put on a good attitude, he worked hard, he became trustworthy in the eyes of the jailor, and eventually rose to being in charge of all the other prisoners. He had a positive attitude and a willingness to deal with the circumstances he was given.

When he helped the king’s cupbearer, Joseph asked the man to remember him to Pharaoh, to explain that he had done nothing to deserve being put in the dungeon. But the cupbearer forgot about Joseph.

Two more years went by and Joseph was stuck in prison, but he didn’t rot in jail. He had a positive attitude, he knew that God was with him, and he helped his fellow cell mates and the jailor over him.

Finally, his big break came when Pharaoh had a dream - a crazy dream, and not one of his advisors could help him figure out what it meant. Then the cupbearer remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh about Joseph, and Pharaoh immediately summoned for him. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, and he believed Joseph. Then he put Joseph in charge of storing up the grain during the seven years of plenty, so that there would be plenty of grain during the seven years of drought. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he made him the chief of his empire, second only to himself. This is exactly where God was planning for him to be. Joseph’s dream as a teen had come true.

So what are some of the things we can learn from this story? What does this story mean for us today? I think there are several things we can learn.

1 - Don’t brag in front of your brothers and sisters. They will resent it. Nuff said.

2 - Siblings are competitive. Not everyone in your family wants you to succeed and do well. Succeed and do well anyway.

3 - Our attitude and outlook may be the only thing that saves us in a terrible situation.

One of the things that I always admired about Joseph was that despite all the setbacks and all the times he was treated unfairly, he managed to make the best of where he was. Joseph is the picture next to the quote, “If life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Not once, not twice, but three times, Joseph was betrayed, and his circumstances were harmed, yet he kept being positive and doing his best.

Most people become resentful. Most of us would get mad and pout and then have a pity party. Then we could spend the rest of our lives complaining about how unfair life is, and how we got a raw deal. We’ve got to cut that out! God is always with us, even though things often go wrong in our lives. What we cannot know for sure is if God is guiding us to a place we need to be, or if by God’s mercy even when other people mess us up, God is taking our circumstance and turning it eventually to our good.

Clearly Joseph believed that God was working through all the things that happened to him. And when he finally revealed himself to his brothers and they were scared to death because they had been so mean to him, he told them, “Do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:5-8)

4 - When you become great, when you are blessed, remember to acknowledge that it was God who put you where you are. It is God who leads and guides us by the events and circumstances of our lives, so that we may come to THE place where God can use you best.

In the ‘70's there was this sort of corny expression that became a poster, like everything did in those days, that said, “Bloom where you are planted.” And that’s actually pretty biblical. Wherever we find ourselves, whatever our circumstances, no matter what our problems are, let us have a positive, hopeful, and grateful attitude. Now, I know that hindsight is 20/20. But as faithful Christians we can have 20/20 foresight too. We may not be able to see where we are going, but we can know that we are going where God is taking us. If we know that God is positioning us for something great and positive and for a blessing, then there’s no point to being bitter, angry, frustrated or mad.

Let’s say you are going through an illness. It is frustrating, you feel lousy, you have to go through a series of uncomfortable, debilitating treatments. Should you curse the illness, or should you thank God for what he is teaching you and for the compassion he is developing in you. Your attitude will determine if you survive or not. Your attitude will determine how well you feel during the illness. The thing I learned when I was diagnosed as being in Stage III colon cancer 12 years ago, was that a positive attitude will make all the difference. The thing I keep telling my brother since he was diagnosed with kidney cancer is that this is a gift from God, be positive, be optimistic and God will see you through.

Let’s say you are going through some marital difficulties. You feel hurt, betrayed, abandoned, abused, taken advantage of, and you’re mad, or crying, or depressed. God may be helping you see how vital working on your marriage is, and how much it should mean to you, OR, God is transitioning you to a better place, a safer place. And perhaps someday, to a better relationship with someone new. Attitude is everything.

Let’s say you are frustrated at work, or going through a time of unemployment. Your attitude will determine whether you become bitter about your circumstances, and just feel sorry for yourself; or whether you work harder, try to be more helpful, and seek diligently for that next employment opportunity. God is leading you to a good place in the future, so your attitude, a positive attitude, will make all the difference in your getting where God wants you to be. Amen.