All right, you can take your Bible. Begin in Genesis chapter 30 with me, please. Don't laugh, but we're gonna get all the way to chapter 50. I said don't laugh. Those who know me best laughed. The only two songs I did not pick out for this morning was the choir song and the cherub choir song. But boy, did they fit the theme well. Those little kids singing on the great shepherd that we pray they will come to know in their times of suffering. I don't know about you, I think my favorite verse in the 23rd Psalm is he restores my soul. Were you ever told as a kid not to pull that loose thread on your clothing? Did you ever tell your kids, if you pull that loose thread, you will ruin your clothes. It will come apart, and there you will be, shirtless in school. It'll be embarrassing. It's the same way with the story of Joseph. If we pull out that one thread of reliability, that one thread of security, that one thread of sovereignty, whole story comes crashing down, doesn't it? Suffering of any kind, and sometimes that suffering is very real. Sometimes that suffering is unending. Sometimes that suffering can be perceived or anticipated. Either way, real or perceived, suffering of any kind begins to pull and begins to tug at the thread of reliability and the thread of security in our lives, doesn't it? And if we are not careful in times of suffering, if we are not by faith, as we sang, prepared for suffering, we will not realize that we are actually pulling up the anchor of our faith and beginning to drift out to a sea of unbelief. And that can happen while we perform all of our religious duties and responsibilities. And yet we can be drifting out to a sea of unbelief. So I ask you your God sovereign today? Is he in control? Does he have a plan? Is he working out that plan? Is he writing the story of this world? Is your God sovereign today? And then I want to ask you this, is your God, sovereign in your suffering today. Joseph's life began with a very chaotic beginning. And we see, first of all, highlighting some things in chapters 28 through 30. This is Joseph's chaotic beginning of suffering. The suffering of family dysfunction. He was born into it. He didn't do anything to create it, but he was stuck in it. The suffering of family dysfunction. By the time we meet Joseph in chapter 30 and verse 22 through 24, his family has already been in the midst of chaos and dysfunction. There's already been family separation between Jacob and Esau, brothers, Jacob has already violated God's intention for marriage between one man and one woman when he was duped by his uncle into marrying Leah and Rachel. So it's not off to a good start. Two sisters, one husband. Yeah, that's gonna go well. And it didn't, did it? The bartering for a husband whole Mandrake incident. In chapter 30 verse 22 through 24 we see that Jacob's favorite wife Rachel was barren to this point, had no children, which in that ancient Near Eastern culture was a really big deal. hard as it is for those that face infertility in our day and age. It's equally hard. She's been barren for years. She's watched in envy as her sister and handmaidens have given Jacob multiple sons and at one point in the beginning of chapter 30 she lashes out at Jacob and in anger and I would say probably bitterness blamed him for her lack of being able to have children. then in verse 22 we read then chapter 30 verse 22 then God remembered Rachel and God listened to her and opened up her womb she conceived and bore a son and said God has taken away my reproach and she called his name Joseph saying may the Lord add to me another son the last time we meet Joseph before we turn to chapter 37, is in a listing of all of Jacob's sons. And attached to this list, and we don't have time this morning to break down, is a note of sorrow. For just a few verses prior to chapter 37, we are told of the death of Rachel. What a sad day of suffering it was in this young boy's life to have lost his mother. So stack on top of the suffering of family dysfunction, now add to Joseph's chaotic beginning, parental loss. Parental loss. And so for Joseph, the life of suffering began. And God was going to use all of these hardships to not only prepare him for a life of hardship, but it also teaches us in him a lesson to be learned early in life, just because you have God's favor, just because you are God's child, and he has special purpose for you as he did for Joseph. for us who have special position in God's family just because we have God's favor does not exempt any of us from earthly trials and sorrows. This is a mess and it only gets messier and we know this because in our trials and suffering and our trials and our hurts. It's messy. And sometimes we add to that mess by the way that we respond and we compound our own suffering, not even realizing it. But this is a mess and this is hard. And I want to tell you this morning, it's okay to say so. It's okay to say, this is hard. This is not easy. I'm struggling. I need help. to acknowledge how hard your suffering is, is to reflect the words of so many psalmists. You can jot down Psalm 6, verses three through seven, and chapter 13, verses one and two, and you can go later and you can read the words of the psalmists who in raw emotion say how hard this is. Faithful, spiritual candor. It's what we find in the Psalms. It's why there's such a comfort. That's how I feel. I couldn't put it into words, but there it is. Joseph's life began with suffering, and stacked onto that, family dysfunction became the loss of his mother. Now turn to chapter 37, where we see Joseph's suffering of betrayal and rejection separation from his family. As the story begins to unfold, God providentially brings about Joseph's rejection by his family so that Joseph himself will ultimately be used to bring about his family's salvation, the nation's salvation. God is choreographing all of Joseph's rejection in these two ways. One, by making him his father's favored son over his brothers, and second, by God's giving Joseph a vision of his own future exaltation. This truth and vision from God, this revelation from God, which will become reality in Joseph's life, was at the very same time what God used to bring about more suffering, the betrayal, and the rejection. And in chapter 37, verse 1 and 2, we are told that Jacob lived in the land of his father, sojourning in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob, and it begins with Joseph being 17 years old, was pasturing the flock of his brothers. He was a boy. Jacob had settled down with his family in the land of Canaan. Joseph's 17 years old, and at 17, he is taking care of his father's flock, working alongside of his brothers. And apparently something had happened in which he came home and told his father a bad report against his brothers. You know, most of you, probably the majority of you know this story well. And so he brings a report of this evil to his father. And as we are aware, there are many contributing factors besides that report that led Joseph to be rejected by his family. First of all, in verse 3, we see a coat. The coat, right? That we call the coat of many colors was given to him. Now Israel loved Joseph, 37 verse 3, more than any other of his sons because he was the son of his old age and he made him a robe of many colors. That's kind of like having two wives who are sisters. That's going to go well. can only imagine being the oldest of all of my brothers out of the five of us if dad had given me because of course he would have given it to me something that set me apart than the others now that would have went really well in our upbringing as well this coat different than a workman's coat, as you've probably heard it described. A long coat, long sleeves, reaching to the ankles. For those that did not do manual labor, it signified Joseph has rank and honor and position and maybe even some believe the establishment of his wisdom and his discernment above his brothers. And by giving it to Joseph, Jacob's making it very clear here to everybody. This son has privileged position over the rest of you. Surprise of all surprises, Joseph's brothers didn't like that that much. It infuriated them. You're kidding me, right? Wow. So now, remember, he's already in a family of dysfunction. He's already had parental loss. Now take that family dysfunction because of his coat and let that build the dysfunction even further. But then to the bad report that he gave about his brothers and then to the coat that he wears in front of them, verses 5 through 11, we see he also had some visions that we remember hearing about. Joseph had a dream and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. And he said to them, listen to this dream that I've dreamed. Behold, we're bringing sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose, stood upright. Behold, your sheaves gathered around it, bowed down to the sheaf. His brother said to him, so what are you going to do? You're going to indeed reign over us? Is that what you're saying? Are you indeed to rule over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. He didn't possess, they didn't possess written scripture, written revelation. So to receive a vision was a special blessing from God. And it wasn't uncommon through the pages of the Old Testament and the old patriarchs to then communicate that dream. Some in the sense of, listen to what happened to me, listen to what happened. And in a sense of, what do you think this means? So it's not uncommon to see this kind of interaction following a vision or a dream from the Lord. So I think it can be easy to place blame on Joseph saying, oh, well, yeah, the 17 year old kid's just bragging. He's just arrogant and prideful like teenage boys are wont to be. But the uniqueness of these visions, Joseph couldn't help but share them. We don't know all of his motivation behind it, but both of these visions reveal God's plan of supremacy for Joseph. And as we would expect from already the parts of his life we've highlighted, much to the chagrin of his brothers. It is important that these dreams are made known, not only to his brothers, but even copied down in the scriptures for us, So that when they are fulfilled later on, God's power is glorified over all of this suffering, over this life of dysfunction. When these are fulfilled, Joseph's character is vindicated, but more than that, his God is glorified. And so Joseph's brothers, verse four and five, like we read, only hated him more, but now, verse 18 through 20, they saw him coming from afar as he was sent to go check on his brothers. What are they up to now? We read in verse 18, they see him coming, and before he came near, they conspired against him to kill him. They conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, hey, look, here comes the dreamer. Let's kill him. And we'll just say that a fierce animal has devoured him. And we will see what will become of his dreams then. But when Reuben heard of it, he rescued him out of their hands saying, let us not take his life. And Reuben said to them, shed no blood, throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him. Reuben, thinking that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe and the robe of many colors that he wore, and they took him and they threw him into a pit. And the pit was empty. There was no water in this well. And then the very next phrase in verse 25 is always a little curious to me. And then they sat down to eat. I don't get that. Let's kill him. Okay, I'm in. Let's just throw him in this empty well. All right, you guys hungry? The revelation of these brothers' character, which we don't have time to explore, just blows my mind. But in the end, as we read in verse 26, their selfish gain wins out. Instead of murder, how can we benefit personally? And they sell him, in verse 36 of chapter 37, they sell him as we are familiar with to the Ishmaelites, the Midianites, interchangeably used here, on their way to Egypt, who eventually sell him to the Egyptians as a slave. This doesn't really seem to be getting a whole lot better. for Joseph. I'm always challenged with reading the life of Joseph because I know how the story ends. I know what happens. I know what God does. But I want to draw you into the fact that Joseph doesn't know. He's got a couple visions to go on from what we're told in scripture. But what we will see We will see what is going on in Joseph's heart as he responds to this suffering and this chaos, this familial betrayal, the rejection, the separation, all the way to becoming a victim of human trafficking. What is going on in his heart? What is going on in his thoughts and in his feelings? And as this unfolds, we'll be able to trace back from his actions and his words, through his feelings, to his thoughts, to his heart, which is an essential step for each one of us as we process, how am I doing in suffering? What do my actions reveal about my feelings? What do they say about my thoughts? What does all of that say is really going on in my heart. Ultimately, and above all, the story of Joseph is not about Joseph. This is what I have come to love about the Old Testament. And I love those stories, but it's not about those stories. It's about the God who is working his will through the everyday events of life. And I'm asking you this morning to work through the everyday events of your life. What you're facing, the hardships. I don't care how big it is. I don't care how small it is. It's hard, isn't it? It's hard, just like Jesus said it was gonna be hard. And we're challenged when something begins to pull on that thread of reliability, that thread of security, that thread of sovereignty. And it can feel like we're just hanging by a thread. But even through the sins of Jacob and his sons, God is still at work as the author of Joseph's story. As the author of your story. He's still the author. of your story, writing it the best way that it could be written. He's writing that next chapter of your life the best way that it could be written for you. It's been multiple times in my life I wish I was writing the story. I wish I could take the pen and write the next chapter the way that I thought it would be best. Because I always win when I write the story. And I like that. And it's not hard. Even through all the stress and the chaos and the consequences that might be part of your life right now, there is still a thread of reliability. There is still a thread of security. There is still reason to have faith in the night. Faith in the night. There is still the faithfulness of our God. When in the bottom of the pit, what did Joseph have to go on? What were his thoughts? What were his feelings? What were his questions? All he had to go on was the faithfulness of his God. And this is all you and I have to go on when our lives are chaos. we can rely on God to finish what he has started. All the subplots, all the drama, the side stories, the back stories, all the distractions are all part of God's overall plan for your life. Every little detail. Every crying baby. that won't stop crying, that won't sleep through the night. Every loss, every ache and pain through getting older, not a single one escapes God's plan for your life. No one knew this better than Joseph. And we must constantly remind ourselves that our crisis is more about drawing attention to God than it is about our comfort, than about the time and space aspects of our crisis. Your crisis is an opportunity to magnify the Father. Joseph had descended from being the son of favor to now being this victim of human trafficking. Surely he must have wondered what God was doing and how this chapter fits in with the dream chapter earlier in his life. How does this go together? How is this going to happen? And at 17, his whole world is turned upside down. Security of a home, gone. Security of a father, gone. Security of a mother, gone. Security of a job and a life gone. A father's love ripped away. Surely he wondered what God was doing with his life and how this could in any way, shape or form be called good. And it is when our world is turned upside down that we too are tempted to doubt God's sovereignty and his control. Yes, we believe and confess that God is good, but these are the types of moments where the functional living of a good God is really, really hard, and it's okay to say so. But just when you think it couldn't get worse, look at chapter 39 and chapter 40. Just when you think it couldn't get worse, right? Joseph's continued suffering now in Egypt. Verses 1 through 6 of chapter 39. Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had brought him in from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge. And because of him, I like this part, and because of him, he had no concern about anything except eating. It's all he concerned himself with. Because God had blessed Joseph and put Joseph in a position and helped Joseph succeed. So Joseph is taken to Egypt where he is sold into a new foreign land that he knows nothing about. as a slave and in God's sovereignty, Joseph's capability and his trustworthiness brought him to a level of prominence. But the plot thickens in verse 7, doesn't it? Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance and after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, come lie with me. But he refused and he said to his master's wife, behold, because of me, my master is no concern about anything in the house. He's put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me, except yourself, because you're his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her to lie beside her or to be with her. Potiphar's wife follows on her feelings and pursues this illicit relationship with Joseph. And those verses we just read give us a small window into how he was thinking about his suffering. How could I do this great wickedness? sin against God. Probably still teenager, maybe early 20s. I didn't do all the math on that. A young man, no doubt, would have every reason to say, what does it matter anymore? Look at all that's happened to me. What does it matter? Who cares anymore? Doesn't suffering feel like that sometimes? Like here at the end, what does it matter? Why keep trying? Who cares? And yet from this young man, we see a small window in how he's thinking. His words reveal what's going on in his heart, which explains his actions. How could I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Some might say, the skeptics might say, what has God done for you, Joseph? Family dysfunction, betrayal, separation, human trafficking. What do you have? What do you owe God? And yet this man's heart was steadfast in the deepest moments of suffering and pain and loss. And he says, I can't do this against God. And then as we know, one day when Joseph is attending to his business in the house, Potiphar's wife did more than just suggest her intentions now. She acted on them. She caught him by the arm, grabbed his coat, and in an effort to flee, the text tells us, he ran right out of his coat, leaving it in her hands. Now she's got a problem. Now she has to explain how she has his coat. And so, being scorned, I think, by Joseph's refusal, she plays the victim, she cries rape, to which Joseph, being innocent, has no alibi, and was left to take the fall in prison. Chapter 39, verse 14. Verse 14 to 20, he is now back in the crucible of suffering. Verse 19 we read, as soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me. His anger was kindled, and Joseph's master took him and put him in the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. Back in the crucible of suffering. This is obviously not the first time that Joseph has been in the pit. literally and figuratively. Joseph has been a student of this lesson for a long time since the age 17. He's been learning that he is not in control of his circumstances and there's nothing he can do about it. That's what makes suffering so hard, doesn't it? I can't do anything about it. And we search and scrape and claw crawl around in the darkness to try to find some kind of comfort and peace and escape, but in the end we're still left with the same thing that Joseph is left with. I can't do anything about this. Did it get any easier? Probably not. Absolutely not. suffering and hardship, one thing it does for us is reveal we are not in control. And so again, Joseph must have wondered, what did I do to deserve this kind of treatment? In the face of great temptation, he has continually responded by honoring God and doing what was right, and what does he get for it? Prison. From a human perspective, his circumstances are completely unfair. unjust. He didn't know at this time what God had exactly for him. He didn't know at this time that God had him exactly where he wanted him to be. There's no doubt even in his godliness exemplified in this text. His humanity was struggling with God being in perfect control. Providentially, God again had Joseph prosper. Chapter 39, verse 23, he's prospering now in this prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Fast forward a little bit, there's a little bit of royal intrigue here in chapter 40. The chief baker and the cupbearer come under the ire of Pharaoh, and they get tossed in prison. Each of them has a dream, as you're probably well familiar with. Each of those dreams was interpreted by Joseph, and as you remember, the baker died, the cupbearer was restored to Pharaoh's court, just like Joseph predicted. Now look at chapter 40 in verse 14. Joseph says to the cupbearer as he's going back to his station under Pharaoh, remember me when it is well with you and please do me the kindness, would you? I just got you out of prison. Will you please remember me and do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house? I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews and here also I've done nothing that they should put me into this pit. But verse 23 tells us it never happened. The chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him. Here we see a glimpse of the pain that Joseph is enduring. A little window into the struggle of his suffering. He pleads with the cupbearer to remember him. Restore me. Get me out of here. I didn't do anything to be here. This isn't right. And he wants justice and he sees the cupbearer as a possible avenue to that justice. Once their interpretation of their dreams are fulfilled, God in his sovereign control of all things allows the cupbearer to forget Joseph for two more years. Joseph speaks to the cupbearer here. He's looking, planning, hoping for a side door, a back door out of this suffering, a way out of his affliction. And I don't think he's sinning by doing this. He knew that God would intervene. He knew what kind of God he loved and what kind of God he served and what kind of God that took care of his family and his patriarchs, his family lying before him. He knew that God would intervene. So he was always looking for a way on how God was going to do that. Now here he was wrong in how and when God was going to intervene. But he's not wrong in expecting God to intervene, for his God told him the same thing that your God tells you and tells me. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. So even as he looks for an escape, a big red button that says, I'm out, it doesn't come. but he knew that his God was going to intervene. God did not allow the cupbearer's amnesia to last forever. This time, Pharaoh would have the dream, and Joseph would be part, and in God's perfect timing, the cupbearer would remember Joseph, and Joseph would interpret Pharaoh's dream as we are familiar with. So he's summoned out of prison, interprets the dream, and as you remember, he's now thrust into managerial role. Wow, that's a change of a day. prison to managing Egypt, to oversee a critical time, and to steer Egypt and Israel to prominence. Clearly, God had orchestrated Joseph's past experiences and his trials for this very moment. Think about it. If the Midianites had not been passing by Joseph's brothers at just the right time, they might have killed him. If his brothers had not sold him into slavery, he would not have been brought down to Egypt. If Potiphar had not bought him, he would not have had the opportunity to learn how to manage within an Egyptian context. If he had not been purchased and falsely accused by Potiphar, he would not have been sent to Pharaoh's royal prison. He would not have interacted and interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer. If that had not happened, he would not have been summoned by Pharaoh on this divinely appointed day. The Lord had overseen all of these events to bring him to this one moment, one moment in time that as we look back on would now change the course of history. God knew what he was doing in Joseph's life, just like he knows what he's doing in your life. Whatever challenges and suffering you face, relationally, parentally, maritally, physically, whatever you want to put under that umbrella of suffering, God knows what he is doing. Just like he did with Joseph. But before the story ends with yet just another Old Testament and he died, I want you to look at chapter 50. Joseph's unwavering faith in suffering. This is the fun part of the story, right? His brothers come down to Egypt by grain. The rest of the world's in famine. I'm sure they'd thought of Joseph many times, but never did they once imagine him as chief supervisor of all of Egypt. At this point in the story, Joseph has already revealed himself to his brothers, Jacob has died, and his brothers are scared to death. Now he's gonna get his revenge. So when we get to chapter 50 and verse 15, Jacob has died, and there stands before Joseph, his brothers. Just prior to this, his brothers have sent a message to him, saying, oh, by the way, Dad, the last thing Dad said was, please don't harm your brothers once I'm gone. send off that message. As we read the full narrative, we see that they're then summoned to meet with Joseph. Boy, that must have been a long trip. What probably took a few minutes must have seemed and felt like hours. With a word, they know that Joseph could enact severe retribution those who have done the unthinkable to him. So they begin to beg for mercy, wondering if this is the day that their crime has finally caught up with them. And in verse 17 we read, say to Joseph, please forgive the transgressions of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you. And now please forgive the transgressions of the servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and they fell down before him and they said, behold, we're your servants. Joseph said to them, do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, I know that. But God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones." And thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. And in that moment, with his brother standing before him and his trials behind him, Joseph articulated a perspective that summarized the focus of his life. His words now reveal where his heart has been all along the journey of betrayal and separation and all the hardships and trials. He says to his brothers, God is in control and we can trust him for the outcome of all of our suffering. I know what motivated your heart, he says to them, but God had a plan. As I said earlier, when we read Joseph's story, we know how it all ends, right? Yay, God wins. What a great story. Joseph's going to be in, you know, he's going to be in charge of all of Egypt and there's not going to be a famine and he's going to be restored with his father. What a great story. Hallmark should do something. That's how good this is. But Joseph's suffering is like your suffering and mine. He didn't know how it was all going to end or when it was going to end. He didn't know why it had to be this way. A special group of friends of mine have been going through the same journey of suffering for a while now. Ups and downs, twists and turns, highs and lows, questions upon questions, wondering why it has to be this hard. And the only answer I've been able to give them is, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know how long. I don't know why. I don't know why it has to be this hard. I don't know when it's going to be over. And the other answer I've given to these friends is God knows exactly what he's doing. Remember, hardship and whatever just came into your mind for your life, Hardship is a tool that God is using to cultivate a deep humility, a deep character, and a deep trust that He is in control. And the way I read my Bible, that's not gonna change anytime soon. Maybe you're here today, and you're looking for the peace in hardship. The peace in trials and suffering is first of all knowing Joseph's God. And the way to know Joseph's God is by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. Repenting of your sins and coming by faith to Jesus Christ. I'm not saying that all your problems are gonna go away. But repenting of your sins and believing, coming to the one who then in all of your suffering, who holds your soul secure by faith in Jesus Christ, you can find that peace to your soul. May I remind us today that God is gracious in allowing us periods of suffering. This story is God's faithfulness on display. Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9 and 10, Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness and insults and hardships and persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. My friends, the truth of this story is that He will hold us fast. Will you stand with me as we sing in response to this, that wonderful song we've been singing for a while, when I fear that my faith will fail, Christ will be the one to hold me fast. When the tempter's gonna prevail, He will hold me fast. Let's sing together.