Ellis
Now this morning, the Bible tells us of a person who faced grave hardships. Jacob believed his son Joseph had been torn to pieces by a ferocious animal. Then his son Simeon was held captive in a foreign country, and Jacob feared his son Benjamin would be taken from him as well.
Overcome by all of this adversity, he cried out, “Everything is against me” (Genesis 42:36). But it wasn’t. Little did Jacob know that his son Joseph was very much alive in Egypt and that God was at work behind the scenes to restore his family. Their story illustrates how God can be trusted even when we can’t see His hand in our circumstances.
Let’s be honest this morning, have we ever said anything like Jacob said? Have we at any time felt that everything was against us when one bad thing after another seems to bring the bad breath of adversity against us? Have we ever asked the question, “Why is all of this happening to me?”
If we would just take off the façade this morning, that we are not Superman or Wonder Woman, and admit that we were where Jacob was and said what Jacob said,”All of this is against me!’’ when our stress level went up a notch. We said “This is bad! Lord, help me!’’ But then, before we could breathe our next breath, the bottom fell out somewhere else, and before we could comprehend that, another whirlwind came along and took our breath away. In our minds, we felt that this was as much as we could take, stretched to the limit, but then you are stretched even further than that.
Community, we don’t know what we can take until our backs are against the wall or we’re in a situation beyond our control. In fact, we don’t know what we are made of until we have been tried in the fire. Life is full of the unexpected, surprises, and the unknown, we woke up this morning, and everything was fine. But tragedy can strike before we go to bed tonight with just a phone call.
This is why family reunions are good, to enjoy each other now outside of a funeral while the sun is shining because we just don’t know. Sometimes, we just have to hold our breath, catch some air and regroup. As I speak this morning, this question is swirling around in somebody’s mind. We don’t understand. But listen when I say we can’t see behind the curtain. The unseen hands that are at work. There are some things hidden behind the scene from the natural eyes that only God can see.
There are times when we can’t see the hand of God. We say, “How can God be in this? I know the Bible says that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. I know that God is in my life, but I just don’t see how this fits in.”
Jacob felt the same way. He is an old man now and has lived his life. But you know, friends, we can learn from this that favor does not exempt us from unfavorable circumstances, pain and suffering. Don’t believe that just because you serve the Lord that negative things won’t happen to you, that somehow like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we just follow the yellow brick road to a pot of gold.
But understand that Jacob had already lost his favorite son Joseph and thought that he was dead. He does not see the hand of God at work in his life. He didn’t know that what he thought was working against him was actually working for him! Community, we judge things by the way they look to us, we make judgment calls based on what our limited vision shows us, but God sees the bigger picture. He can see further down the road than we can. But that’s why when we can’t see his hand, that’s when we have to trust His heart!
Friends, have we ever felt like Jacob? That something that we were going through was going to take us out? I mean, honestly, have we ever felt that sickness, more sickness, financial stress, family problems, church problems, health problems, surgery, bad news, the death of a very close relative, and demonic forces were working against you? That if God is good all the time, and all the time God is good, then why is He allowing this to happen to you?
Community, there are folks struggling this morning, wrestling with this thing. Christians who can’t understand why their children are in gangs, why their marriage is on the rocks, why they lost their loved one who was an outstanding person, why their business can’t get off the ground, why they didn’t get the promotion or got laid off. Why are you serving the Lord, and you are struggling and dealing with pain, while those that don’t even serve the Lord are pain-free, and you feel that everything is working against you?
With all of this, Jacob was saying, “I’m not going to survive!’’ But if he could see the hand behind the scene! That’s what he couldn’t figure out. God was already working it out! Listen, friends. God uses broken things: He uses broken soil to produce a crop and broken clouds to give rain. Sometimes God breaks us to pour into us so He can use us for His glory. Everything is not against you; it’s actually working for you.