Key verses: Genesis 45

Key thought: God is his providence and foreknowledge is able to work through our dysfunctional lives to bring his purposes to pass.

Dysfunctional families

Favoritism in the family – Joseph is his father’s favorite son, he does not even hide it and to make matters worse, he brings bad reports to the father about the siblings.

The result is jealousy amongst the siblings, they resolve to kill their brother and later on decide just to sell him.

Favor enlists enemies, and so it is indeed important to row in wisdom as well, God is still able to being to a place of influence a young hated in his own family.

Trapped in covering lies – Having sold their brother, sons of Jacob devised a plan to convince their father that his son was killed by animals. They took the special coat the father made for Joseph and dipped it in blood as proof. Their father was so devastated by this but for 22 years none of the sons came to tell their father the truth.

As long as that sin is not resolve before God, it will surely come to bite.

God’s providential dealings with humanity – In the life of Joseph the one thing that is clear is how God can use ordinary, independent and even wrong choices of people to make his plans come to pass.

How do we find purpose in our dysfunctional lives?

1. We must grow our perception of divine superintendence in our lives

   • Always strive to understand the purposes of God in our lives
   • God is able to work with people’s independent choices, nature and all creation and still bring something good out of it.
   • Understanding that God means good for us even when things don’t go as expected gives us confidence in life, there is nothing can go out of control when God is involved. Understanding God’s purposes necessitates forgiveness and reconciliation.
   • Appreciation of God’s purposes for our lives can bring healing and closure to some of the pain, frustration we carry.
   • You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
     Psalm 23:5 ESV
   • He walked with Joseph in the pit, sold by his brothers, falsely accused and thrown into prison, until he rose to the power
2. Recognize that God given platforms are for service to his bigger purposes
   • He opens doors for us to serve
     • The kind of opportunities, favor and door God opens for us must help us affirm that God was indeed preparing something better ahead.
     • V8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt
     • At the peak of his life Joseph has a shift in the understanding of the crisis moments of his life.
     • Whilst in prison he says I was forcibly taken off from my father’s land and now the God has made me father to Pharaoh.
     • It’s not often that Pharaoh will have a Hebrew as an adviser unless God is involved. Joseph is made prime minister in Egypt not just for the sake of Egypt. Egypt was a pagan nation.
     • Joseph finding favor before Pharaoh, was not just a reward for being faithful, it was because God was seeing ahead.
   • Recognize the resources sent to support our ministry
     • Pharaoh was happy to provide the provisions, he was gracious enough to invite Jacobs’s family to Egypt.
     • V17-18 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.
     • This story is a culmination of how God can connect invisible dots to create a beautiful picture.
3. Leverage on the grace for the season
   • If the story of Joseph ended with the fulfilment of prophecy, it would still be a beautiful story.
   • What God had showed Joseph in the dream was fulfilled, the brothers had bowed before him.
   • We must always believe that there is something bigger and better for our calling and existence.
   • He has not time for revenge but is quick to forgive and embrace his brothers and shifts into working on the purpose of God.
   • At his peak he ushers healing for his dysfunctional family. When Jacob heard that Joseph was alive and was calling for him, his spirit was revived.
   • Leveraging on the grace for the season entails we should make the first step to restoration and healing.

Conclusion

Understanding divine providence must bring comfort in our lives. As long as we are in the faith, all is not lost when it lost.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV