BE OVERCOMERS, NOT SUCCUMBERS . . .
Overcome Negative Effects from the Past by Seeing Them from a New Perspective
One day a Christian missionary walked into a Belgian village and saw a “quilt-in-process” hanging from a strand of wire strung between two trees. An elderly woman was busily weaving threads of multiple colors into what appeared to the missionary, from where he was standing, to be a pattern that made no sense - the threads crisscrossed in such wild confusion.
Seeing the bewildered look on the missionary’s face, the woman smiled and motioned him to come around to the other side; and there, from a new perspective, he saw a beautiful work of art in the making. Oftentimes we find ourselves in situations that make no sense at all but, once we reposition ourselves and follow the lead of the Master Weaver, we see life in a new light. Whereas we had focused on all the confusion we see from this the “underside”, we now set our sights on God’s finished work.
Thus, our attitudes, aims, views, motives, behaviors change for the better because we are now determined to be overcomers, not succumbers! We aim to overcome like Jesus who overcame like Joseph.
The story of Joseph is much more than an intriguing drama filled with all the suspense and conflict associated with dysfunctional families - of the kind we see on television shows or read about in novels.
Joseph’s story is a true story - God at work in and through life’s trials and temptations to perfect the finished Plan which God designed for His People.
To overcome like Joseph and Jesus, we rise above the negative effects from our past by seeing them from a new perspective – Genesis 37:19-28 . . .
Joseph’s story in a capsule: He was the favored son of his father Jacob. When he enters the stage of biblical history, he is 17 years old. Because his brothers hated him, he was sold as a slave and taken to Egypt.
Falsely accused of rape, he was imprisoned with no hope of getting out. Because he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream he became prime minister of Egypt. Eventually he welcomed his family to Egypt – which preserved the lineage of promise that God had initiated with his great-grandfather Abraham.
To put Joseph’s life in perspective, think of the structure of Genesis: the first eleven chapters have to do with four great events – creation, the fall, the flood, the tower of Babel. The rest of the book focuses on four great men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph.
Joseph’s story takes up more space in Genesis than the story of Abraham. So, we would have to conclude that this is no ordinary man and no ordinary life. In fact, has it occurred to you as it has to me that Joseph stands out as a “type” or “picture” of Jesus Christ?
Joseph was loved by his father . . . hated and betrayed by his brothers . . . sold for pieces of silver . . . falsely accused . . . judged guilty of a crime he did not commit . . . abandoned and forgotten . . . promoted to a high position after his suffering . . . God’s instrument of salvation even for those who betrayed him!
In and through it all, there was an “invisible hand” at work, in every single event, to bring about God’s desired outcome – which Joseph himself could not see until he arrived at the end and looked back upon it all.
If we carefully and prayerfully read Joseph’s story and do not come away with a new appreciation for God’s providence over all things, then we will have certainly missed the point.
Indeed, God is the real “hero” of the story! Joseph himself said as much when he declared to his brothers: “God meant it for good.”
At the beginning of his story, the “threads” of Joseph’s life are crisscrossed in all directions. Many years later the grand design became apparent. But it is clear throughout that Joseph was being prepared by the Lord God for his ultimate destiny long before he became aware of it.
Being as interested in ancestry as I am, you should not be surprised that I spent quite some time searching for and identifying the traits Joseph inherited from his ancestors: He had Abraham’s dignity and capability . . . Isaac’s purity and spiritual power . . . Jacob’s cleverness and tenacity. From his mother’s family he got his good looks, his charm, his humor and his management skills.
Joseph needed all of these resources with which he had been endowed to endure the abuse he was subjected to, then to rise above the residual negative effects from having grown up in a dysfunctional family. In spite of it, God turned him into a hero who delivered the very ones that sold him into slavery. Looking back over chapter 37 we see that:
Life is looking pretty good at the beginning of the story. Joseph is tending the flocks with his brothers as they worked in the family business . . . stood for different values . . . became a marked man (looked upon as “special”) . . . We all know about the “robe” . . . the teenage popularity . . . the grandiose dreams that lit the fuse of jealousy that infused the brothers with envy and anger that spiraled out of control into hatred that led to betrayal.
How swiftly events unfold when the “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble! Perhaps the writer of Hebrews had the Joseph story in mind when he issued this warning: “See to it that no one misses the grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many!” (Heb. 12:15)
After the bitter root of hatred seethed and grew, then what happened? The haters conspired to kill . . . derisively said, “Here comes that dreamer” . . . plotted against him . . . threw him alive into a pit . . . callously ate a meal while their brother was in the pit!
Then what happened? Unexpectedly – in one of those amazing moments of providential intervention - a caravan came along, and the Spirit of God planted an idea in Judah’s head, although Judah twisted it into a clever money-making scheme - and they sold their own brother. The deal was made and the deed was done! What would they tell their father? A bald-faced lie!
What a sordid story! What sorry scoundrels! What an evil scheme! Where was God? God’s name was not mentioned even once in the entire chapter! Did it mean that God had abandoned Joseph to the conniving of spiteful, hateful, lying men? Joseph did not know the answer to that question, but we do! Joseph ended up exactly where God wanted him to be! Which reminds us:
In those last few moments of his human experience, just before he died on the Cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Then what happened? The question was answered on Sunday morning when Jesus emerged victoriously, not only from the valley of the shadow of death but, triumphantly conquered death itself and lives forevermore! So shall we! How do we know? The Lord God is always at work for the good of His people!
Since the Lord God never forsakes His own, what is your responsibility and mine when: it is not obvious that God is at work for good . . . we cannot see at the moment what God is up to . . . the big picture is not within our scope? Wouldn’t it help to remember Joseph and Jesus and their “resurrections” unto new life - and how the same has been promised to all God’s children . . . thank God for working in our lives on specific occasions and for how He will work in our lives from this day on . . . let go of past failures or mistakes or errors of judgment that weigh us down with so much guilt, and trust God to empower us to overcome it . . . identify a specific betrayal that occurred in the past but continues to negatively impact your life . . . then take steps to forgive? Prayer of Commitment:
“Thank you, Lord, for loving me and forgiving me. In the name of Jesus, I forgive. I claim your promise to be at work in my life for good, even when it is not obvious. Strengthen me by your Spirit to be faithful to you and to do unto others as I would have others do unto me. Amen.”
