FAITH UNFAILING. Hebrews 11:22 It is not uncommon when difficulties come upon people for them to say, "Why did this happen to me? I trusted God and look what happened to me." Joseph, throughout his life, demonstrated his faith in God with a far better response: "What do I do now?" He acknowledged in obvious ways that he knew God was with him in his trials. Perhaps the greater test of faith was the success of the last part of his life. His faith survived the temptations of wealth, fame, and the adoration of a nation from the Pharaoh down to the ordinary people.
Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, and that favoritism bred his brothers' hatred, leading them to sell him into Egypt. Joseph, in his youthful pride, caused friction in his family. He must have seemed overconfident to his family. The hardships he endured at home led to his family's betrayal and desertion. In Egypt, Joseph faced sexual temptation, and his faith was tested when he was punished for doing the right thing. Even during his long imprisonment, he was forgotten by those he had helped, yet he maintained his confidence in God.
Faith is tested by disappointments, failures, opposition, persecution, and sacrifice, but perhaps the greatest test of faith is worldly success. Personal commitment to righteous living, acts of benevolence, and even humility are all characteristics of many successful people in the world.
Character traits, life's circumstances, and our personal strengths and accomplishments all affect our faith. We all have weaknesses and failures. Even hardships affect our faith. Faith means trusting God and doing what He wants, regardless of the circumstances or consequences. Our responses to life's experiences also affect our faith.
Joseph was spiritually sensitive from a young age, making him a wise, prudent man with strong emotions. Because he could see God’s hand in human events, his character enabled him to be a man of faith, a forgiving man who could see far into the future. Joseph was esteemed even in a foreign country, where he rose from slavery to become a ruler known for his personal integrity. His quick rise from prison to the Pharaoh's palace was due to Joseph’s faith, as he interpreted Pharaoh's dream by the power of God. This man of spiritual sensitivity was aware of the Person and Presence of God, who used him to prepare a nation to survive a famine. Joseph had experienced hardships personally and now knew that God could preserve a nation like Egypt and would preserve the future of the children of Israel.
Joseph’s faith, as presented here, was that he believed God had future plans far more important than what he had done in his life. His mind was directed by the word of God he had learned as a boy. He knew he was just a cog in the wheel of God’s sovereign plan for His people. His success in the world of politics, economics, business, and international relations was temporary. It was a temporary reprieve from present distress. He knew he was a small part of a great work of God.
Joseph (increaser; may Jehovah add) was a man of faith in watching over Israel’s future. Even though Joseph held a high position in Egypt, the greatest nation on earth at that time, he remembered God’s promise to Abraham. He knew Israel would not remain in Egypt. Joseph didn't know when the children of Israel would reach the promised land, but he did know he had been sent to Egypt by the Lord to preserve the whole family for the future, and he wanted to be buried with his fathers.
God has a program for humanity, and each age and generation is part of that journey toward its fulfillment. We have been sovereignly placed on earth at this particular time to fulfill our part in the unfolding drama of God's plans, as He selects people of faith to bear His name, do His will, share His life, and enjoy happy, holy fellowship with Him eternally. He does not force this on people but offers it as a gift to be taken personally and used by faith.
That was what was important to Joseph. The famine had passed, and complacent contentment had settled over his people. Therefore, his last thoughts, as he was dying, were about the future, not the past. He wanted to be associated with the plans of God he knew would come to pass, and he wanted his bones and embalmed body to be in the place where God’s promises would be fulfilled. He knew the nation of Israel had a future as God’s earthly people before the end of the world. The last words of Genesis are about Joseph being put in a coffin in Egypt, waiting for the journey of his people to the promised land.
The fundamentals of faith are learned early in life. What I believe and what I do are inseparable because each affects the other. I can't realistically expect my brothers and sisters to understand all my motives and actions, so I will often have to make the best of whatever situation I am in and rest by faith in God. God has reasons for allowing things to happen that are unknown to me, so I must keep the Lord’s interest in what I do and am before me at all times. Don’t ever harbor bitterness. Bitterness brings no solutions to problems and has no good outcome. Every believer needs to keep a clear vision of God’s ultimate plans and purposes before them.
In our lives, we live by faith as we look into the future, not with regrets that come from looking at the past. The future is where blessings and joy will be found. What God has planned gives meaning and purpose to our lives. When our hearts, minds, and ambitions are linked with the people of God, even though there is affliction and failure, we are associated with the whole purpose of the kingdom of God and of life itself – “To glorify God, and enjoy Him forever!”
Unusual as it may seem to be living in a foreign land, even here it is God who provides every need from His own hand. From His fullness, we have received grace upon grace. The Lord, who supplies our needs from His storehouse, meets us in every place. The work of God that has called us to do what we do and where we are can be blessed by God Himself. His presence is felt even there. The nourishment of soul and body comes from His supply. He gives us more than we deserve, and it is what we cannot buy.
When the life we live is hidden with Christ in God, we truly know that it is God alone who has brought us here. We trust Him to make His mind and will clear to us, even when we seem unproductive. The worldly system around us offers seductive invitations. Sometimes the only thing we can do is wait for God to reveal His will. And it is one of His ways to teach us to know Him, to trust, and to be still. In His own time and way, He arranges to meet our every need. We do not have to yield to the world's way of covetousness and greed. The God who nourished His own people in times of famine in the past is the same God who works His will today in ways that endure. If I get jumpy and try to do what I think should be done, running ahead, I will miss out on that divine nourishment by which people of faith are fed. By the grace of God, I will wait for His time and fill mine by learning of Him. I can take His yoke upon me so that I might learn how and when He intends for me, in His name, to reach out to nourish others. Christian love and good works identify us as Christian brothers.