The Trouble With Joseph

Pain, trouble and turmoil always come from the devil. The devil has no desire to give you a happy life. Unless making you happy and content with your life is the thing that will keep you from the Gospel. He’s only nice to us if it will move us away from the will of God for us. All Good things come form God all and evil comes from the pit of hell.

God doesn’t inflict us with suffering. It’s not his nature. In the Garden of Eden He created a paradise for mankind. In fact the word Eden, literally translates as pleasure or delight. So God created this place and in doing that He met every need of mankind. He provided us with food, a place to live, meaning and purpose for our lives and the wonderful comfort of companionship.

It was sin that destroyed that. Stan tempted Eve and took both her and Adam out of the will of God. And God had to evict them from his paradise. But even in the curses that they were given was the promise of redemption. He still desired good for us. and that’s his character God doesn’t change.

Genesis 50:20
20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

This is Joseph speaking, and he says you meant it for Evil but God meant it for good. And this tells me that occasionally we may suffer things, but that God can bring something good from those sufferings. I want to examine this idea from the following passages of scripture:

Genesis 39:1-6
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Genesis 39:19-20
19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.

Joseph’s Story

We all know Joseph’s story. He ticked off his brothers and they sold him into slavery. They hated him and they wanted to kill him, but Reuben intervened and so they threw him into a pit and sold him to Egyptian slave traders. This is God’s chosen man. God had spoken to him in two dreams, prophetic dreams, telling him that he would rule over his brothers.

These dreams were the beginning of God’s plan for Joseph. We don’t always see what God is doing do we. He’s given this prophecy to Joseph that he would rule over his brothers but those same brothers have just sold him into slavery. Where’s God’s plan? How can Joseph rule from slavery? How can the prophecy come true from this? It must have seemed to Joseph that God had abandoned him.

Do you ever feel like that? We’ve heard it preached a million times that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, but we look at what’s going on in our lives and we wonder Where’s God in all this? Where’s the plan of God?

Joseph is sold into slavery and he’s taken to Potiphar’s house and because of his faithfulness, he prospers, and Potiphar gets blessed.

Genesis 39:2-5
2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

Potiphar’s trust in him is so complete that he turns over everything to him. Joseph is in charge of it all. Everything he has is placed under Joseph’s authority. Potiphar believed in him because he saw the hand of God in all that he did.

But Potiphar had a wife: She was the only thing that wasn’t turned over to Joseph. Potiphar’s wife saw something also in Joseph. She wanted him and tried to seduce him. But Joseph resisted her charms. He didn’t want to betray Potiphar. He didn’t want to sin against God, and so he fled from her. He did the right thing. Potiphar’s wife was angry, she was bitter and she accused Joseph of Rape and he was sent to prison.

Can you imagine that? He is being sent to prison because he did the right the thing. Because he refused to sin, he’s being punished. When bad things happen to us, often, we think that God is punishing us for some misdeed. As a pastor I’ve heard that so many times, “I don’t know why God is punishing me.” But here’s Joseph, he’s done the right thing and he’s going to prison. God isn’t punishing him. What reason would God have to punish him, he’s been nothing but faithful and righteous.
But what we’re seeing here is a strategy of Satan. It’s a strategy designed to wear us down and cause us to doubt God. So we’ll begin to think that “God’s Plan” is a lie.

Think about this for a moment. What did Satan tell Eve in the Garden?

Genesis 3:4-5
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“You’ll not surely die,” God lied when he said that. God’s a liar. “He knows that in the moment you eat of it you’ll be like him.” God wants to keep you down. He doesn’t want you to be like him. He doesn’t want you to have wisdom. Eve began to doubt God. That’s what the devil is trying to do to you. “These things you’re going through, that’s God punishing you.” “He’s not a gracious God, He wants to get you.”

If that’s what God wanted for mankind he would have killed everyone in the flood. Why leave a remnant, why send a redeemer, if all he’s looking for is to punish us. The truth of the matter is that God is always looking to reconcile with us.

Isaiah 1:18
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

“Let us reason together.” “Your sin can be white as snow.” This is the way of God. God is looking to reconcile with us, not to punish us. Joseph was right in the will of God. He was doing the right thing and he landed in prison. God’s not punishing him; the devil is trying to take him out.

But in all of this Joseph maintains the right attitude. How do you react when things go wrong? How do you deal with frustration and setbacks in life? Do you become angry and bitter? Keeping a good attitude is the hardest part isn’t it? Joseph, didn’t fall into anger and bitterness, in fact in prison he did the same thing he did at Potiphar’s house.

Genesis 39:21-23
21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

God had mercy; He worked in Joseph’s life even in prison. God helped him in this time of setback. But do you think God can act in your life independent of your actions. Joseph continued to act in faithfully. He remained diligent. If he has a bad attitude it doesn’t show, does it? God continued to be with him. And when you’re facing setbacks in life, God remains with you, too.

God’s Plan Doesn’t Always Mean Smooth Sailing For Us.

In Genesis 50:20 Joseph speaks something powerful.

Genesis 50:20
20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

This verse speaks of God having a plan. It speaks of God bringing things to a specific end. But Joseph had to endure some things to “bring it about as it is this day.” Look at the sequence of events that led to this moment. It takes place after Joseph has been made the Governor of Egypt, second only in power to Pharaoh; after God’s plan has played out.

1. His brothers sell Joseph into slavery.
2. He ends up in the house of Potiphar whose wife accuses Joseph of rape.
3. Joseph is sent to prison.
4. While in prison he is given authority over all that happens in the prison.
5. He meets the King’s cupbearer and interprets his dream.
6. The cupbearer remembers him to Pharaoh, when he has been released and
Pharaoh has a dream that needs interpretation.
7. Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and is elevated to Governor of Egypt.
8. Joseph puts in place a system that provides for all of Egypt during a famine.
9. It also provides for the family of Israel.

If he hadn’t been sold into slavery he wouldn’t have been in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar’s wife never would have falsely accused him of rape. If she hadn’t he never would have gone to prison and been given authority over the prison. If not, he wouldn’t have had access to the king’s cupbearer to interpret his dream. If he hadn’t interpreted the cupbearer’s dream correctly, he wouldn’t have had opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. If he hadn’t done that he wouldn’t have been given the authority he needed to save Egypt and the family of Israel. All of these events led to the fulfillment of God’s plan for his life.

All of the things that Joseph endured led to the plan of God playing out in his life. It may be just as true that the things you endure may be the things that bring about God’s plan for your life. The devil may mean these things for evil but God means them for good.

Who Knows the Plan of God for Their Life?

I wonder what Joseph thought as they took him to prison. He knew what God had prophesied after all his telling his brothers is what started all the trouble in the first place. But look at the first part of Genesis 42:9:

Genesis 42:9a
9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them,

This moment took place after he had gone through all of these things. It took place after he had been made Governor of Egypt, after it had all played out. It was after he had endured all that he had endured, and then he remembers the prophecies. While he was going through it all he forgot that God had a plan for his life.

The key to seeing our destinies play out is in the endurance. Even through the setbacks and the suffering Joseph remained steadfast in continuing to serve God. God finally brought him to his destiny. Joseph never knew hoe his life was going to play out. He had no more idea of what God was trying to do in his life than you or I do. But he pressed on and the plan of God was fulfilled.

It’s easy to become discouraged and disillusioned when suffering setbacks, but those setbacks may be the key to God’s plan. None of us know what God is going to bring to pass through our lives. But I do know this God has a plan and it can only pay out, if we will allow God to work…even when it hurts.