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Burlington, WI 53105
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“No matter how deep our darkness, God is deeper still.” Corrie ten Boom
March 21st, 2010
Some Christians make me very uncomfortable. I’d dare say that most pastors feel the same way. They have what someone has dubbed “kitchen verse theology.” What do we mean by that? Kitchen verse theology is when someone takes a plaque with a verse on it like Romans 8:28 and sticks it above the kitchen sink with the idea that when we say it over and over again as a sort of Christian mantra, it will somehow start working for us. This is often accompanied by the notion that working for “our good” will mean an abundance of sunshine and the absence of storm clouds. But the idea that Romans 8:28 is only at work in the sunshine and not the storm produces both an unbiblical and warped theology.
Such a worldview fails to be able to handle life when the clouds come and the wheels fall off. We need to learn that God's providential hand is at work in the hard times, as well as the good ones. And that God works for the good of those who love Him in all things, not just during the good times but also in the dungeon. The “good” of those who love Him is ultimately our conformity to Christ and our sanctification. We must recognize that God in His providence shines His light into our darkness, just as He did in the dungeon for Joseph. God is good even in the pit and circumstances cannot imprison the person who is trusting God even in the pit. That's why some people live in a palace with their hearts in a prison; others like Joseph, live in prison with their hearts in a palace!
This morning we’re finishing our series, When Life is Crushed out of You: A Study of the life of Joseph. I hope that these Sundays of studying this great hero of the faith who had so many things go wrong, has deepened your faith in God and expanded your spiritual knowledge of how God really works.
Because God’s perfect creation was contaminated by sin as a result of the disobedience of our first parents, suffering, pain, trials, tough times are our lot in this life. But God!! Aren’t those two great words!?! The life of Joseph is a powerful reminder that even in the midst of vile sin, betrayal, wickedness – But God!! God is still working. God is sovereign! God is in control!
When we face the pain of this life, we often approach it a bit like the story of two boys who were walking down the street when they encountered a large dog blocking the sidewalk. “Don't be afraid,” one of the boys told his more timid companion. “Look at his tail, how it wags. When a dog wags his tail he won't bite you.”
“That may be,” admitted the other, “but look at that wild gleam in his eye. He looks like he wants to eat us alive...Which end are we going to believe?”
I know that I’ve felt like those two boys when I’ve faced trials in my life. This past week as I was dealing with some deep waters, my first response was more emotional than Biblical. Yet, the Bible exhorts us to “count it pure joy” when we encounter various trials (James 1:2). We are assured that God is working all things together for good to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). But sometimes we aren’t quite convinced whether to believe the wagging tail of God’s promises or that wild gleam in the eye of the big trial confronting us. What if we count it pure joy and the trial bites us?
Joseph was a man who had developed a godly worldview that carried him through the many trials in his life. He had been badly mistreated by his own family, as well as by others whom he had not wronged. He spent the better part of his twenties in an Egyptian dungeon, separated from his father, not knowing if he would ever see him again. Yet in spite of all these trials, he could say to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Gen. 50:20). He knew that even though his brothers hated him at the time and were trying to get rid of him, behind them it was God who was at work, sending Joseph to Egypt for God’s sovereign purposes.
Joseph’s trust in the sovereign goodness of God carried him through these terrible trials with a joyful spirit, free from bitterness and complaining. That same attitude was not just for Joseph. God did not intend for him to be some spiritual aberration or abnormality. His worldview is to be normative for the believer. It’s the only perspective too that will enable us to endure the pain that is part of our human experience. To bear up under trials, we must trust in the sovereign goodness of God in every situation.
What are you going through right now? Do you really trust God? Do you really believe that He is in control? That’s He’s even using the pain of a bad marriage or a prodigal child or the loss of a loved one or an incurable illness or financial set-back or a broken friendship, etc., etc., etc., for our good and His glory. Knowing that true-truth that God is not just loving, He is also in control of whatever happens in my life is so freeing. I can rest even in the worst firestorm, just like Joseph, knowing that even when I feel like my very life is being crushed out of me – I can trust my Heavenly Father! My friend, you really can!