Sermon for September 22

So…

What do you do when it seems God has forgotten about you?

Maybe you have never had that experience, that you felt as if God had abandoned you. But, one of the challenges of sharing our vibrant faith with others, is that at least some of the folks we know and love you seem distant from faith, have spent some time in their lives wondering if there even was a God.

Battered by life, by events beyond their control - and some perhaps in their control - but which then got out of control, they have hurt so much that they can’t imagine a God who loves them and who would let them suffer, no less want good for them.

They’ve endured the loss of loved ones in tragic shootings, auto accidents, drug overdoses, suicide, and they themselves have had battles with disease, depression, failed relationships, discrimination so harsh it left them breathless - leaving them broken, feeling faithless, tired and scared.

They feel alone and forgotten.

And then we come along and want to talk about our wonderful love of Jesus, often without a whole lot of sense of the pain and misery they are living with. Approaching our friends who are broken and struggling, with our stories of God’s amazing grace sometimes just misses the mark.

But not all stories of faith are about grand successes. In fact, most of the Old Testament stories of those we consider “heroes” are not really stories about their success, but about God’s using them in spite of their lack of success!

Many of these “heroes” are simply folks like us, clinging to faith in the darkest struggles, and then seeing God’s amazing love peeking through on the other side of the storm.

Joseph was indeed one of the great heroes of the Old Testament.

Joseph who became the hand of Pharaoh, was one of those suffering servants. Yes, it was Joseph who saved his family in a time of great famine. Yes, it was Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Issac, the son of Abraham!

Yet it was also Joseph who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. And it was Joseph, the one with the coat of many colors, who ended up in prison forgotten, alone, and seemingly without hope.

God is good, all the time.

God will not leave you or forsake you.

But that does not mean that God will not let you wander, struggle, hurt, even wonder where God is at times.

Joseph was in prison after being sold to traders who then sold him to a Captain of the Egyptian Royal Guard. Then, having been accused of trying to seduce his master Potiphar’s wife, he ended up in prison.

Life it seemed couldn’t get any worse.

And then it did.

Joseph was known as one who could interpret dreams. It was a spiritual gift given to Joseph, one he had used, and that had unfortunately gotten him in bad graces with his brothers, when he told them about a dream where he would rule over them and they would bow to him. Ouch.

But now, maybe, this new opportunity would offer him a way out of jail.

Pharaoh’s own personal servant and his chief cook ended up in jail too. And they had dreams. And it got around that Joseph could interpret dreams and so they came to him.

Joseph used his gift and used it wisely, explaining that God knew all dreams. For Pharaoh’s personnel servant the news was good! For the king’s cook, not good at all.

Finally, it seemed that God had remembered Joseph!

Except that Pharaoh’s servant forgot about Joseph. And so, Joseph continued to languish in prison!

There are lots of us who have been there. We have felt lost and defeated. And for all of us in the church who have felt that sense of abandonment, there are many, many more outside of it.

We know here in our brains that sometimes, when God has us in a low place, it is because the storm up high is even worse.

And we know in our hearts that God has plans for us. But it’s hard to stay believing when it hurts. And Joseph was hurting.

But…

Then Pharaoh had dreams he didn’t understand. And that personnel servant suddenly remembered Joseph. And Pharaoh called for Joseph, the one who could interpret dreams, and save Egypt, and his family and all of Israel, and was made the number three ruler in all of Egypt.

So…

What do you do when it seems God has forgotten about you?

Stay faithful.

Call out to God.

And remember, with the help of friends who understand, that even in the darkest place, God still has plans for you. Just saying.

Amen!