Part 27 – Whose Hand are You In? – Genesis 39
February 18, 2018Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Speaker: Jerry Cisar
The shooting this week at the Parkland, Florida high school will bring out stories of brave heroism and miraculous rescues which should be shared. I’ve already read some. But let’s not forget that there are also parents who are, at least in their own way, crying out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” That is a prayer given to us in Scripture (Psalm 22), and it is a perfectly legitimate prayer. God knows our sufferings and gives us words to speak to Him in times like this.
This Sunday we are going to look at an account of a man, Joseph, who may well have prayed something like, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” but with whom God was truly present. We will see the difference that God’s presence made to him. By examining Joseph, we will also see the difference the Lord’s presence makes to us in our own sufferings. The significance of Jesus’ promise that He will never leave us nor forsakes us.
In Joseph we learn that God is often present with those in whose lives He appears most absent. By all human calculations, Joseph’s “should” be a story about Joseph’s bitterness and retaliation, or minimally, his demise. But it is neither. It is about so much more! How is that possible?