Suffering and Healing

Core Idea for this Lesson

God forges your suffering into a tool for healing.

Lesson

The story of Joseph and the redemption of his suffering

Genesis 37,42-44 - Summarize Joseph’s life and the series of tests he put his brothers through, before being confident that there had been a change.

Genesis 45:1–8 NLT

1 Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2 Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace. 3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. 4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

Genesis 45:14–15 NLT

14 Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. 15 Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.

We don’t want to think that Joseph’s realization of God’s plan in Gen 45 is an emotionally easy one. He obviously still greatly distrusted his brothers.

But when he finally saw their change of heart, he was emotionally able to see the big picture of God’s plan.

God is going to change your perspective on your suffering.

It’s not just something He is comforting you through - it is something He is intentionally bringing you to.

Genesis 45:8 NLT

8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

Your suffering was never just about you - it was always about a larger and broader work He is doing in the lives of many people, whom He will use you to impact.

Genesis 45:7 NLT

7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.

Your suffering will be reforged into a tool for healing.

Colossians 1:22 NLT

22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Colossians 1:24 NLT

24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.

God brings healing through suffering.

In the same way that our healing came through the suffering of Christ, God will turn the suffering of our lives, into healing for others.

The very things the enemy used to hurt us, will become weapons against the enemy.

In the meantime, learn the discipline of faithfulness and righteousness.

1 Corinthians 9:23–27 CSB

23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings. 24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. 26 So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Joseph didn’t sit around for 13 years just nursing his wounds.

We was disciplined, righteous, and faithful.

This next series in Letters to the Corinthians is “Becoming Mature”

We are going to talk about the importance of self-discipline in the process of becoming mature in Christ.

Discussion and Application

Joseph had years of pain before he saw God’s plan unfold—how do you stay faithful when you’re in a long season of waiting or suffering?

What’s something you’ve learned in a hard season that you wouldn’t have learned any other way?

What’s one area where you feel like God is asking you to grow in discipline or faithfulness right now, even if it’s hard?

Where to Land the Plane

God is not just walking with you through your suffering - He is working through it with intentional purpose. What others meant to harm you, God is using to shape you, mature you, and position you to bring healing to others. Like Joseph, your faithfulness in the unseen seasons prepares you to steward influence and redemption when the time is right. So don’t waste your pain - let God reforge it into a tool for His glory and the good of many.

Exhortation for the Week

Lean in to the suffering in your life, by practicing faithfulness and righteousness in the middle of it.