How Belief in God’s Providence Impacts the Way We Suffer in this Life

Introduction

Opening: It is my job to preach the whole counsel of God. As a result I very often have to preach on the subject of suffering. How we suffer well to the glory of God is a topic that arises over and over in Scripture. I always struggle when preaching on this subject, not because I don't know the doctrine, or can't figure out how to preach it properly. But I struggle because I know my flock, and I know that when I stand up here to preach this message on this Sunday, many of you are enduring hardship. And so I know that this topic is so personal and present for many of you. This week in fact I emailed all of our members with an urgent prayer request for a little one in our congregation. Even now as I prepare to preach this message I am thinking deeply of that family. I am very regularly shaped by you, when I see the way you suffer.

Personal: How would your life look any different, if you had to face the trials you’ve faced in your life without Christ? Would your heart and mind and decisions look different? How has God’s presence in your life served you as you have navigated hardship?

Big Idea: Today is our final sermon in our Genesis series and it will be preached on one little verse towards the very end of the last chapter. This one verse functions as a capstone to the study of Joseph’s life, which covers 13 chapters in Genesis. The main idea of this sermon today is a phrase you have heard me use many times before in this church. “God will providentially work all things in our life for his glory and for our good.”

Text & Outline: Let me read our verse to us today. Joseph is speaking to his brothers who many years prior had committed horrible evil against him. And with the benefit of hindsight he confronts them this way.

Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Today’s sermon has three parts.

Understand Joseph’s story. What is the backdrop of that sentence?

Explain the doctrine of providence. What do we believe about God’s hand guiding our life.

Apply this doctrine into our life, specifically by considering how we suffer well to the glory of God.

Understand Joseph’s Story

Brother’s Jealousy: Joseph’s story begins back in Genesis 37. Joseph is the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob, and the only son of Jacob’s wife Rachel. As Genesis 37 begins, Joseph is 17 years old. And in the opening verses of chapter 37 we read,

Genesis 37:2–4 “… And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 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. 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.”

And so we see the beginning of jealousies among these brothers.

Dreams: To make matters worse, Joseph one night has a dream in which the brothers are seen bowing down to him. Well the brothers are furious at this.

Sold: One day, the eleven older brothers are in a field, and the youngest Joseph approaches them from a distance. The older brothers jealousy has turned into rage, and they conspire against him. They strip him of his robe, they throw him into a pit, and when Ishmaelite slave traders are passing by, they sell their brother into slavery. To cover their tracks they take his robe, dip it in goat’s blood, and tell their father that Joseph must have been attacked by a wild animal.

Potiphar’s House: The slave traders bring Joseph down to Egypt where he is sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar. Here we begin to get a sense for Joseph’s faith. He walks deeply with God even as a slave in Egypt. God begins to bless his work and he stands out among his peers. But Potiphar’s wife one when they are alone attempts to have an adulterous affair with him. Joseph being a good man, a man of God, flees the situation. But, Potiphar’s wife won’t have it. Holding his cloak in her hands, she accuses Joseph of the misdeed, and Potiphar has him thrown in prison.

Prison: Now Joseph finds himself in prison, and he would stay there for roughly eight years. This is an Egyptian pit. Living there is like being dead. Again though, Joseph is a man of faith in the God of his father. One night two others prisoners have dreams that are troubling them: a cupbearer and a baker who had formerly worked for the King of Egypt. Joseph, by the power of God, interprets the dreams. And sure enough, events unfolded just as Joseph said they would according to the dreams. The cupbearer was returned to his position, and the baker’s life was taken. As the cupbearer is led away, Joseph asks him if he can remember him in the future.

Pharaoh’s Dream: Two more years pass by as Joseph languishes in that Egyptian prison. Then one day, Pharaoh the King of Egypt has a dream that is troubling him deeply. None of his pagan religious leaders can interpret it. And that cupbearer overhears the situation, and he remembers Joseph. He tells Pharaoh, and Pharoah has Joseph pulled out of prison and brought to him. Sure enough, God gives Joseph the interpretation. He says that seven good years are harvest are coming, but they will be followed by seven years of drought, unlike anything they’ve ever seen. And Joseph advises Pharaoh to select a discerning and wise man to begin collecting food for the seven years of drought.

Joseph’s Rise: Right then and there, Pharaoh realizes, as Potiphar had once realized, and as the Captain of the Guard had once realized, that Joseph and was invaluable. Pharaoh appoints Joseph to be in charge of his kingdom. Joseph is now thirty years old. He’s been a slave, and in prison for a total of thirteen years, and now he is running the economy of the world’s greatest superpower nation at that time, Egypt. Joseph does his job well. Knowing the seven hard years are coming, he begins to collect in great storehouses portions of the nations grain. And along the way gets married and his own children.

Brothers: When the famine hits after those seven years, it hits hard. But Joseph is prepared. When there is no food to be found anywhere, the world begins to come to Pharaoh because he had prepared. One day, Joseph looks out into the crowd coming for food and he sees a group of brothers waiting in line. It’s his older brothers. The same ones who had sold him into slavery, now over two decades prior. He recognizes them but they don’t recognize him, likely because Joseph was done up in Egyptian attire and hairstyle. Joseph at this point is overcome with emotion. Old wounds that have never been dealt with arise. Joseph sends them home with plenty of food, but he keeps one of the brothers there, because he wants them to come back.

Brothers Return: Finally the brothers return for more food. And at beginning of chapter 45, when Joseph is speaking with his brothers we read this.

Genesis 45:1–3 “Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.”

Joseph, the second most powerful man in the world breaks down sobbing, as the wounds his brothers gave him arise to the surface. Joseph is overwhelmed. The brothers are dismayed because they realize who their brother has become, and what he could do to them. But Joseph has no intention of revenge. They go home to Israel and tell their Dad that Joseph is still alive in Egypt. The whole family moves to Egypt where Joseph takes care of them, and continues to run the country.

Jacob Dies: And then in chapter 50, at the end of Genesis, Jacob the father dies while in Egypt. And it is this moment that the older brothers become even more terrified, because in their minds now that Jacob the Dad is dead, Joseph might turn around and take his full revenge on them. They approach Joseph and plead for mercy. And right then is where Joseph says these words,

Genesis 50:19–21 “… Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”

Part 1 - Joseph’s story.

Explain the Doctrine of Providence

Part 2 - Explain the doctrine of providence. At the center of this verse is a Biblical understanding of providence. And this doctrine shaped Joseph’s life.

Joseph says, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Joseph takes us right back to that day when he was 17 years old and his brothers stripped him of his robe, cast him into a pit, and sold him to slave traders. He says that in that moment God was using their wicked actions to fulfill his agenda. He was using brokenness and the Devil’s schemes to ultimately bring about His own plans.

Careful: Let us be careful here. God’s providence never makes him the author of evil, and it never excuses sin. The brothers meant real evil, and God hated that evil. And yet, without approving of it, God overruled it, and decreed that his glory would come about through it.

Providence Definition: We are speaking here about the doctrine of Providence. What is providence? God’s providence has to do with God’s sovereignty. Sovereignty says that God is totally in control of all things. Every action that ever occurs is within his decree. Every molecule that ever spins is sustained and guided by his hand. God is not a distant watchmaker who set the world into motion and then let it be. No, God is sovereignly in control. But providence goes further. Providence is intentional sovereignty. If sovereignty says God is in control, Providence says God is in control in such a way that he is guiding all things to his intended purpose. Simply put, this means that God truly is God.

Very Difficult: This doctrine is very difficult for us to accept. And throughout Church history, many have sought a way to avoid it. But we can’t. This doctrine does not mean that man does not have a meaningfully substantive and responsible will that makes decisions. We do, and that is clear from scripture. And yet, at the same time, not one event occurs in all of history that is not utterly underneath the providential hand of God.

Examples: Let me give you a handful of verses to paint a picture in our mind of God’s sovereignty and his providence.

Salvation: Start with our salvation. Ephesians 1:11 says that those in Christ have been predestined according to God’s purpose “who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” Why did God choose me, from among all the other fools who rejected God and were living for their own purposes. The counsel of his will. We are told in Colossians 1 that God “delivered us from the domain of darkness” and that God “transferred us ot the kingdom of his beloved son.”

Nations: Why do some nations prosper, and others struggle? Why does one nation have a wonderful ruler and another nation have a tyrant. It is because God “rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:28). The prophet Daniel tells us in Daniel 4:17 that “the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will…”

Receving Blessing: Why do we have all the things we have? How did our wardrobes get filled with clothes, and our bank accounts with money? How did we get our families, and our jobs, and our friends, and our memories. According to John, “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).

Nature: Why does the wind blow where it blows? And lightning fill the sky ? Why does thunder boom across a landscape. Why do waves rise and crash onto the shore? Why does grass grow?

Psalm 135:7 “He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.”

Psalm 147:8 “He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.”

Animals: At his word frogs and fleas and flies swarmed Egypt (Exodus 8). At his word quail were provided for the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 6:13). At his word the lions refused to eat Daniel (Daniel 6). At his word Ravens fed the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-4). To fulfill his prophetic word, he made dogs lick up the blood of wicked Jezebel (2 Kings 9). He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and ordained that he should be vomited up on a particular beach. At his word, a fish carried a coin to Peter to pay the tribute money (Matthew 17:27).

Humanity: And God governs every aspect of our lives. Acts 17:28 “… In him we live and move and have our being.” Proverbs 19:21 tells us that “many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” And God says through the prophet Isaiah “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”

Here is our doctrine. The Bible is clear. God sovereignly moves all history towards his pre-determined outcomes. Nothing happens outside of his will, his plan, his purpose, and his decree. And here is his ultimate purpose. God will work all things together for His glory and for the good of the Church. This was the doctrine that undergirded Joseph’s life.

Application

Now, part 3. We have seen Joseph’s story. We have studied the doctrine of Providence. And now we must apply it, the way Joseph applied it, into how we navigate suffering.

Illusration - Bob Ross: Many of you might recall watching Bob Ross paint. Bob Ross is the artist who got famous for painting landscapes on TV in the 80s and 90s. He had a tv show where he would make the most incredible paintings and he would do it so easily. Watching Bob Ross complete a painting can be so frustrating at times. He’ll paint a backdrop of a sunrise, and mountains with a river flowing down the moutain into a lake. It’s a masterpiece. And then he’ll take a bold dark color glob it right over a quarter of the painting. He does this every time, and as a viewer, I’m thinking “No Bob, No!” He’s ruined it. But sure enough, the artist has a vision. He’s painting the foreground, and that glob of dark paint is going to eventually become a beautiful hill of various trees with some happy little bushes running a long stone wall.

The Masterpiece: God is the great artist. Each of our lives are part of his grand painting which will be the masterpiece of all masterpieces. On the day we stand before God on judgment, we will look back on every brushstroke in wonder and awe, and see its cohesive beauty, and the intentionality and good intention of the artist. Right now, we cannot see the finished work. But by faith, we believe in his providential hand.

THREE LIES WE BELIEVE

To apply this to our life, I want us to consider three lies that we often believe about suffering that are confronted by Joseph and through our study of providence.

Lie #1: God Has Turned His Back On Us: The first lie we tend to believe in our suffering is that somehow God has turned his back on us. This is so real. We start to think that if God were really in our life, and if his promises were really as good as we have heard, then this would not be happening to us. God must either be not as good as we have heard, or he has forsaken us. This is a lie. My heart burns when I hear this come out of folks. And I do from time to time.

Look at Joseph: Look at Joseph’s story. Throughout Joseph’s story we continually see that even in his hardest and most isolating moments, God was no less near him than when he was home with his father. When Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s house we read:

Genesis 39:2 “The Lord was with Joseph…

When Joseph was a prisoner in an Egyptian we read:

Genesis 39:21 “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love…”

God had not abandoned Joseph; God was leading Joseph. The Egyptian prison was not a mistake that Joseph had to endure, it a pathway that God had set to accomplish his purpose.

Protect Yourself: How might you protect yourself from this lie? The only protection against this lie is personal intimacy with God through Christ Jesus. If your relationship with God is shallow, and your understanding of the Word is shallow, and your prayer life is shallow, you can get by when there is not much suffering in your life. But that shallowness will not sustain you when you suffer. You’ll be like someone who has only ever trained for skiing on the bunny hills, suddenly dropped off on a black diamond. You’re not ready for it. No, train yourself. Push into God; he is pushing into you! Prioritize intimacy with God.

Lie #2: God Will Not or Cannot Redeem Our Story: The second lie we believe is that God cannot or will not redeem our story. If you think about Joseph’s response in our text today, he is explictly talking about how God redeemed his story. This is particularly true for intense suffering.

Illustration - Think Conference!: Years ago I ran an Apologetics Conference in the city where I brought speakers in to come address some of the biggest questions asked by skeptics to Christianity. And of course the biggest night was “If there is a God, why is there so much evil?” Well, the speaker gave a wonderful talk addressing the question soberly and tenderly and doctrinally. And when we opened to audience Q&A, a man in his 40s approached the microphone, and holding back tears he said something like this, “What I’ve heard tonight, does nothing to bring back my family member that I lost recently.” And then he walked out of the room. I remember being on the stage running the event, and wanting to run out of the room and go sit and just weep with him.

What Would You Say: If you could sit with that man, what would you say? The truth, many in this room even right now, are that man in one degree or another. Your suffering has caused more spiritual callouses than spiritual tenderness. What would you say?

The Response: Well first, we would want to just weep with him, and hear him out, and understand him.

Romans 12:15 “… weep with those who weep.”

See, the Bible’s answer to this question does not instantaneously remove the pain. And we must never allow our doctrine to become numbing agents to grief. We must never allow the right answer to cause us stop weeping with those who weep. The doctrine of Providence is not just about logic, it is about God’s compassion and presence and care.

God Enters: The Bible also doesn’t manage our pain from a distance. The Bible’s answer is not that God shouts instructions to us from a distace and tells us to be stronger. God enters the story and suffers alongside us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:15–16 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

God is not providential from a distance. He is actively providential through His Holy Spirit, who is the comforter and helper of our souls. And over time I have come to know this God through his Word, and to experience his faithfulness in small and quiet ways, then even when I am battered and bruised, I can trust him. I do not have to understand every chapter. I do not have to see how it all fits together yet. I trust the hand that guides history because I know the heart of the one who holds the pen. His plan is better than mine.

Lie #3: We are the Center of the Story: The third and final lie we believe is that we are the center of the story. We are all guilty of this in one degree or another. But if you look to Joseph, over and over again, we see “God” at the center of the story, not Joseph. When Joseph interpreted the dreams in the prison he says:

Genesis 40:8 “Do not interpretations belong to God?…”

After Joseph interprets Pharaohs dream, he does it in such a way that everyone knows God is the center of the story. Pharaoh himself responds.

Genesis 41:39 “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.”

Then when he is prosperous and begins to have his own family we are told:

Genesis 41:51–52 “Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.””

The center of Joseph’s story is God, not Joseph.

Jesus the Greater Joseph: In fact, we could say that Joseph’s whole life is a signpost pointing towards someone far greater than him. Jesus is the greater Joseph.

Jesus was the greater beloved Son who was betrayed by his own people

Jesus was innocent and falsely accused and condemned.

Jesus’ suffering, to those on the outside, seemed pointless and irredeemable.

Just as Joseph was lowered into the deathlike conditions of an Egyptian prison. Christ himself was crucified on a cross. We’re told that when he died the sky turned black. Christ died and was placed in a tomb.

Just as Joseph was raised out of the prison and given authority and a kingship. Christ rose from the grave, and was given authority over a heavenly kingdom, where sits and rules and reigns right now.

Lie Collapses: This is where this lie finally collapses. If we are at the center of our story, then suffering is meaningless, an interruption at best. But if God is at the center of the story, then even the darkest chapters are not wasted, they are purposeful

The Cross: The cross proves this. If you had been standing at the foot of the cross the day that Christ died, you likely would have seen his life as a failure. The crowds mocking. His disciplees largely fleeing. But the scriptures tell us that God had planned that suffering in order to work God’s plan of redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Christ’s death is the single greatest evil ever committed in history. Wicked men meant it for evil. And yet God meant it for good to bring about the redemption of many. Through Christ’s death our sins are forgiven, for the wrath of God is satisfied.

Magnify Christ Not Self: I am always struck in the Apostles statements about findign joy in our suffering. Rejoicing in our trials. Why? How? Well their life was centered around Christ, to magnify Christ. The more we seek to magnify ourselves, suffering will be one inreasingly difficult waste. The more we seek to magnify Christ, we end up finding a strange joy in the trials, knowing how God’s providence leads us.

Conclusion

As we bring this sermon to a close, we are also bringing to a close our series in Genesis. And I want to leave you these words. If you are in Christ, the promises that were made to Abraham, confirmed in Isaac, and then in Jacob and Joseph after him, are yours. The same God they loved and served stands today over his Church. These stories are your family legacy. They are to define you. They are to shape you. They are to shape how we live. How we suffer. How we trust. How we hope.