Sometimes It Gets Worse First

We are in week 2 of a series we’re calling “the problem with Following God.” where we are tackling four “problems” that arise when we decide to follow God.

The heart behind this series is to really talk about what it looks like following God.

Last weeks message not only was taking on the topic of how God doesn't always tell us everything, but also laying the ground work for the entire series, that while following Jesus is costly. It’s always worth it.

If you missed it you can find it on our Youtube Page. I encourage you go back and listen to it if you missed it.

This week we are looking at another problem that arises when we follow God. This morning we are going to talk about how:

Problem #2 With Following God: Sometimes It Gets Worse First

There is a lot of places we could pull from in scripture for this, but the life of Joseph is one of the strongest examples of this.

Jospehs story starts out with a loving father and a dream. Sounds like the beginning of a Disney movie…

Let’s read together.

Genesis 37:1–4 ESV

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph 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. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Right off the bat you can see there is some drama in Joseph’s life. And it’s family drama, come on somebody. Joseph is the favorite.

His father gives him a robe of many colors. This isn’t just a fashion statement.

In the Ancient Near East, a garment like this was a symbol of honor and status. Some scholars say it wasn’t just colorful, it was long-sleeved and flowing.

This was the kind of robe you gave to someone who supervised, not someone who sweated in the fields.

In other words, Joseph was being marked as management while his brothers were still stuck in the fields.

This coat was a visible declaration that Jacob had chosen Joseph as the heir, the one set apart.

Every time Joseph walked into the room, his brothers didn’t just see their little brother — they saw the reminder that their father had picked him over them.

And the text says they hated him so much they couldn’t even speak to him peacefully. Every word they spoke to Joseph dripped with hostility. Every glance carried contempt.

Real quick I want you notice something in the text.

Verse 1 says Jacob “lived in the land of his father’s sojournings…”

but verse 3 says “Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons…”

Why the switch?

Back in Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with God, and God gave him a new name — Israel. That new name represented a new identity: no longer deceiver, but covenant-bearer.

But even after that moment, the Bible still calls him Jacob sometimes. Why? Because he’s still in process. He is Israel — chosen, blessed, renamed. But he is still Jacob — weak, flawed, human.

And that’s not just Jacob’s story, that’s our story too. Scripture tells us that in Christ we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Yet at the same time, we are still being sanctified, still walking out our salvation. Paul puts it this way in

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Like Jacob, we live in that tension.

God has given us a new name a new identity in Christ, yet we still wrestle with the old one.

And God, in His grace, is patient as we learn to live into the identity He has already spoken over us.

And Joseph is born right into that tension — into a family that is both Jacob and Israel. Broken and blessed. Weak and chosen.

And it’s in that place, that Joseph recieves a dreams

Genesis 37:5–11 ESV

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Now, I want you to notice something here… we are only eleven verses into Joseph’s story, and already we’ve heard four times that his brothers hate him.

Verse 4: ‘They hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.’

Verse 5: ‘They hated him even more.’

Verse 8: ‘They hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.’

Verse 11: ‘His brothers were jealous of him.’

The dream from God did not bring peace to Joseph’s home. It only turned the heat up.

The favor of God on his life attracted opposition from those closest to him.

Sometimes the very people who should be the most supportive will be the most critical of what God is doing in your life.

Sometimes your family or friends won’t understand the calling God has put on you. They may even resent it.

And here’s the tension — the dream was real.

This wasn’t Joseph’s imagination. God confirms it by giving it twice.

Later in Genesis 41:32 Joseph himself explains that when God doubles a dream, the thing is fixed by God, and He will shortly bring it about.

So Joseph has the favor of his father and the promise of God. But instead of leading him straight into blessing, it leads him into hatred, jealousy, and betrayal.

That’s the pattern of Joseph’s story — and often of our own: sometimes it gets worse first.

Pray

You know what I love about the Bible? It makes me feel better about my own life sometimes.

Because the Bible is full of drama. I mean, come on — the Bible literally starts with a woman eating fruit God said not to eat, because a snake told her to. And her husband just stands there like a bump on a log, and when she says, ‘Here, eat this,’ he’s like, ‘Ok honey.’ That’s page one.

Then you flip a few chapters and it only gets wilder.

Cain murders Abel out of jealousy.

Noah gets drunk and passes out naked in his tent.

Abraham — the father of faith — twice lies about Sarah being his sister so other men won’t kill him for her beauty. Imagine that: ‘She’s not my wife, she’s my sister.’ Talk about awkward family dinners.

Jacob tricks his brother with a bowl of soup and then fools his blind father with a goat-skin costume.

Samson falls for Delilah and loses his strength and his eyes.

David, the man after God’s own heart, sleeps with Bathsheba and has her husband killed.

And it doesn’t stop there — Amnon assaults his sister Tamar, Absalom kills him for it, then later drives his father David out of Jerusalem.

Even in the New Testament: Peter denies Jesus, and Judas betrays Him with a kiss.

So when someone comes up to me and says, ‘I can’t read the Bible because it’s boring.’

You know what I hear? ‘I’ve never actually read the Bible.’

There are Christians who think they’re going to open up a demonic portal in their life if they watch the wrong movie, or that they’re going to catch a demon from a horror film.

Meanwhile, the living, breathing, active Word of God sits untouched on the coffee table.

Now, I’m not saying you don’t need to be mindful of what you’re feeding yourself. You do.

But here’s the real problem: you’ll believe a movie has power to mess you up, but you won’t believe the Word of God has power to build you up.

What if you put the same level of belief in the Word of God that you put in that movie? What if you opened it expecting it to do something to you, expecting it to change you?

Stop making excuses for why you’re not reading the bible and then complain that your not doing well spiritually.

And that’s exactly why I say the Bible makes me feel better about my own life sometimes.

Because when you actually open it, you realize just how much drama, dysfunction, and betrayal is in there.

Families tearing each other apart.

People making unthinkable choices. And somehow God still weaving His plan through the mess.

Which brings us right back to Joseph. Because if you thought your family had issues, wait until you see what happens when his brothers finally snap.

Genesis 37:12–14 ESV

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

The brothers go on without Joseph. You’re about to see why here in a moment, but don’t spend your time with people that are going to feed your dysfunction.

You need people that are going to help starve your flesh not take it to a all you can eat buffet…

Joseph goes out to find his brothers and cant sees a man and ask if he’s seen them and he tells them where he can find them, skip down to verse 18

Genesis 37:18–36 ESV

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 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”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Ladies and gentlemen, there has been drama in my family. But I can honestly say we’ve never sold each other into slavery and dipped our clothes in goat’s blood to convince our parents one of us was dead.

No, we’re a healthy family. We only think about getting rid of each other!

But seriously — look at the weight of this moment.

They strip him of his robe.

They throw him into a pit with no water.

They sit down to eat while he cries out from the ground.

Then they sell their own brother for twenty shekels of silver — the price of a slave.

Joseph started with a dream and a robe, but by the end of chapter 37 he has no robe, no family, no freedom, and no way back. He is in the pit, and he is headed to Egypt in chains.

That’s the pattern of Joseph’s story — and often of ours. Sometimes, it gets worse first.

And here’s what is fascinating. Joseph not only ‘goes missing’ as he’s sold into slavery, but he’s not even mentioned in chapter 38.

The whole chapter is about Judah and Tamar. The Bible just moves on.

And what do we get instead? The story of Judah and Tamar. And if you’ve read it, you know — it’s messy. Judah sleeps with his own daughter-in-law, thinking she’s a prostitute. She gets pregnant. And the whole thing blows up into family scandal.

Don’t ever tell me the Bible is boring.

But notice this: Joseph’s life is unraveling, Judah’s life is a disaster, and God doesn’t step in to clean it up right away. He just lets the mess sit there on the page.

And that’s where some of you are right now. It feels like your life is unraveling. It feels like sin and scandal are running the story. It feels like you’ve disappeared.

That’s the end of chapter 38. But it’s not the end of the story.

Think about Joseph. His family thinks he’s dead. He’s chained and dragged off to Egypt. And as far as the story is concerned, he’s gone. Off the page. Missing. Forgotten.

Have you ever felt that way? Like your life has fallen apart, and not only are you in a pit, not only are you in chains, but you’ve been erased from the story altogether? Like nobody sees you, nobody remembers you, and even God seems silent?

That’s Joseph at the end of chapter 37. Forgotten. Missing. Sometimes it gets worse first.

But then… Genesis 39.”

Genesis 39:1–5 ESV

1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 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. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.

It’s looking up for Joseph….Things are turning around!

Let’s see how good things get!

Genesis 39:6–20 ESV

6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.” 19 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. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

And we’re back…

One chapter Joseph is in the pit, the next he’s in the palace of Potiphar, and now he’s in prison. It’s up, it’s down, it’s up, it’s down. Just when it looks like things are getting better, they get worse.

Joseph does everything right. He resists temptation. He refuses to sin against God. He walks in integrity. And what does it get him? A false accusation and a prison sentence.

That’s the problem with following God sometimes — faithfulness doesn’t always lead to blessing right away.

Sometimes obedience makes your life harder, not easier. Sometimes it gets worse first.

Let’s keep reading…

Genesis 39:21–23 ESV

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

Up to this point I’ve ignored something. But I can’t anymore. And you can’t either.

Let me explain. This whole time I’ve been talking about what’s gone wrong for Joseph.

We looked at how his brothers hated him and sold him off.

We saw the false accusation that landed him in prison.

And that’s the temptation for us too — to fix our eyes on what is instead of who is.

On the pit. On the betrayal. On the loss. On the prison.

But if all you see is what is happening, you’ll miss who is present.

Because here’s the pattern I’ve been holding back until now. In Genesis 37, four times it says his brothers hated him. Four times! The text is pounding it in:

They hated him.

They hated him even more.

They hated him still more.

They were jealous of him.

But in Genesis 39, four times it says the LORD was with Joseph.

The LORD was with Joseph and made him succeed.

His master saw that the LORD was with him.

The LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.

The LORD was with him, and whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

Too often we focus on what is against us instead of who is for us.

You’re worried about what it looks like instead of who is with you.

You’re worried about the hurt instead of the healer.

You’re worried about the enemy instead of the One who has already overcome.

You’re worried about the pit instead of the One who pulls people out of pits.

You’re worried about the prison instead of the One who sets captives free.

You’re worried about the accusation instead of the Advocate who pleads your case.

You’re worried about the loss instead of the Lord who restores.

You’re worried about the brokenness instead of the One who makes all things new.

You’re worried about the season you’re in instead of the Savior who holds every season in His hands.

If all you see is what’s happening to you, you’ll miss who is standing with you.

And let’s be honest — things stayed bad for Joseph for a while. He didn’t go from pit to palace in a day. He went from the pit, to slavery, to false accusation, to prison — and he stayed there. Forgotten. Overlooked. Abandoned.

Joseph was 17 when this started and is 30 before he gets out of prison. Thirteen years of obscurity. Thirteen years of waiting. Thirteen years where it looked like the dream had died

Sometimes it stays bad for a season.

Sometimes it feels like the pit is permanent.

Sometimes it feels like the prison is your new address.

We have to learn how to be comforted in the pit, not comfortable in it.

See, there’s a big difference. To be comforted in the pit means I let God’s presence strengthen me, sustain me, and remind me He hasn’t left me.

To be comfortable in the pit means I start settling in, making peace with the pain, and convincing myself this is all there is.

Joseph was in the pit. Joseph was in the prison. But he never made either place his home. He never let the pit define him, he let God’s presence sustain him.

And that’s the lesson for us. Don’t confuse comfort with comfortable. God doesn’t promise to make the pit cozy.

He promises to be with you in it. He doesn’t promise the prison will feel good.

He promises His steadfast love will meet you there.

So yes, sometimes it gets worse first. But listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

That’s what Joseph lived.

The pit wasn’t the end.

The prison wasn’t the end.

At 30 years old he was lifted out of prison and set over all Egypt.

And when he looked back, he said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

Joseph’s story starts with a coat. Why? Because before Joseph ever faced a pit or a prison, he was already marked by his father’s love. Before there was suffering, there was identity. Before there was betrayal, there was blessing.

That robe wasn’t just a piece of clothing. It was a declaration. Every thread said, “You are set apart. You are chosen. You are loved.” It was a visible sign of favor.

And notice, the very first thing that happens in Joseph’s life is not that he suffers, but that he’s covered. The story begins with identity before adversity. Favor before the fight. Covering before the conflict.

And even when that robe was ripped off him, dipped in blood, and handed back as if he were dead, what it represented couldn’t be taken. They could strip the robe, but they couldn’t strip the favor of God. They could stain the cloth, but they couldn’t erase the calling.

That’s why the story starts with the coat. To show us that no pit and no prison can rewrite what the Father has already spoken.

And it all points us forward. Because Jesus is the greater Joseph. The Beloved Son who was stripped, bloodied, betrayed, and thrown down lower than any pit. And what the enemy meant for evil, God meant for the salvation of many.

But He is not just the greater Joseph. He is also the greater Israel.

Jacob lived divided, Jacob and Israel.

Broken and blessed. Weak and chosen.

But Jesus was never divided.

He was only Jesus.

He didn’t need a new name.

He didn’t wrestle with two identities. He was faithful from beginning to end. Where Jacob failed, Jesus prevailed. Where Israel stumbled, Jesus stood. He is the true Israel, the Son who carried the blessing to the whole world.

So yes, Joseph’s coat was ripped and stained, but it could not erase the favor of God. And yes, Jesus was stripped and crucified, but it could not stop the resurrection power of God.

And that is why I can say this: I’ll take the worst if it means I get Jesus.

I’ll take the pit if it means I get His presence.

I’ll take the prison if it means I get His comfort.

Because the worst place with Jesus is still better than the best place without Him.

Following Jesus is costly. Sometimes it gets worse first. But it is always worth it.

Because Jesus is the greater Joseph.

Jesus is the greater Israel.

And Jesus is the name above every other name.