The Remarkable, Relentless Life of Joseph

February 4, 2014

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

He is one of the most famous followers of God in the book of Genesis, but he never heard God’s voice.  That’s not so for his ancestors.  God wrestled with his father Jacob, told his grandpa Isaac to stay put, and called his great-grandfather Abraham to get up and go.  Yet even though the story of Joseph occupies nearly a third of Genesis’ fifty chapters, not once does God speak to Joseph directly.  No messengers from heaven, no dreams in the night, no burning bush or fiery pillar or still, small voice.  Nothing. 

Not while he was staring up from the bottom of a cold, dark pit, bound and gagged after his brothers had tossed him and left him for dead;

Not while he stood on an auction block as Egyptian slave owners bid for his services, and a master named Potiphar secured his rights;

Not while he fended off the sexual advances of a woman who would later falsely accuse him and have him arrested;

Not while he sat in a jail cell for two years, wrongly imprisoned, and later betrayed by a fellow inmate who promised his release but failed to deliver;

Not while he dreamt about home, longed for his father and his beloved younger brother, and struggled to come to grips with the torment of his past;

Not while he stood before his brothers and wrestled with his inner urges for revenge and vindication.

If anyone in the book of Genesis deserved even a post-it note from God, it would have been Joseph.  Even a pat on the shoulder, or a whisper in his ear.  Even one of those posters with that cat clinging to a rope that says, “Hang in there.”  Even a bouquet of flowers saying, “Thinking of you, from God” would have certainly brightened his day.  But there was nothing.

There was nothing, of course, except this:

The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.  (Genesis 39:2)

His master saw that the Lord was with him.  (v. 3)

The Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph’s sake.  (v. 5)

The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had.  (v. 5)

Here’s the lesson from Joseph:  Don’t ever, ever – regardless of how hard your life gets – ever confuse God’s silence with God’s absence.  Even though you can’t hear God, it doesn’t mean you aren’t near God.  God’s proximity is always certain, even when God’s audibility is not.

It’s hard for me to believe that after all these years in the ministry, I have never preached a sermon series on the remarkable, relentless life of Joseph.  I’ve been familiar with his story since my childhood Sunday school days, but his story became even more real to me during my college years, when I felt like I was living in a foreign land, an Egypt far distant from the Christian love and support of my family, friends, and church.  But his tenacity through tough times, the steadfastness of his commitments, and his belief that God was always with him even through the silence, was a bedrock of security for me.

Now, twenty-five years since my freshman year in college, I’d like to invite you along on another journey through the life of Joseph.  One that will take us from the dreamy-eyed days of his multi-colored coat, to the powerful halls of Pharaoh’s throne room.  We will connect his story – full of one misery after another – with the tumult of our own.  And along the way, we will discover a simple, honest, and time-tested truth that rings more clearly in the life of Joseph than in almost any other story in the Bible:

No matter what you are going through, God will see you through.

God Will See You Through:

The Remarkable, Relentless Life of Joseph

February 9

When Life Hits Rock Bottom

February 16

Longing for Home

February 23

The Temptation Trap

March 2

When Injustice Prevails

March 9

Getting Out of Yourself

March 16

Learning to Wait

March 23

A Tough Faith During Good Times

March 30

The Choice to Forgive

April 6

God Used It for Good

Join us starting this Sunday for this eight-week journey.  And if you know someone who can use some inspiration from one of the Bible’s greatest heroes, bring them along.  It will be great to take this journey together.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega

St. Paul's United Methodist Church

531 W. Main St.

Cherokee, IA  51012

Ph:  712-225-3955

Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org