Brought Down
Scrabble tiles on white background spelling out the words “I will be with you.”
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, “God will be with you”? For many, I think, this is a phrase that has been heard so many times, it has lost its meaning. It has become part of the Christian language that we actually stopped thinking about a long time ago. What does it really mean for God to be with you? How does that make a difference to your life, particularly when things are going well? What difference might it make in other people’s lives that God is with you? We will explore these questions as we take a look at this chapter over the next two weeks. Today I hope that you will be convinced of our main point, that God’s presence in you impacts your world right where you are.
God’s presence in you impacts your world right where you are.
As Christians, we are often confused about how our actions fit into God’s plan. When we answer this question theologically, we say that God is the one who executes all things, and take it to the point of making us almost totally interchangeable with literally any other human being. However, when we are trying to sleep at night, we anxiously feel like God is actually quite far away, and His plan for our family rests entirely, exclusively even, on our shoulders. The truth has to be somewhere inbetween, but where?
Let’s start with the first question, are you, you specifically, needed where you are? After all, couldn’t God just use anyone in the places we occupy? Like most good lies, there is an element of truth there. Yes, He could use anyone, but the situation is that He chose you to be here right now. As an example, God could have picked anyone to be the pastor of Knollwood right now, but, like it or not, He chose me! He has put me in my place. And the same thing applies to you. No one is where they are by accident. Even if it feels like one.
Look at how this was true in Joseph’s life.
We pick up where we left off from chapter 37. Joseph, as you recall, was sent by his dad to go check on his brothers. Off he went, wrapped in his coat of many colors that provoked such jealousy. Once he arrives, his brothers, after a short debate about killing him directly, does the movie bad guy thing, and instead sells him into slavery. We find the end result of that here in chapter 39 verse 1.
In contrast to Judah, who “went down” from his brothers, Joseph is “brought down” to Egypt by force. This wasn’t Joseph’s plan or Jacob’s plan. This “wasn’t supposed to happen.” It doesn’t sound like the start to a success story. This is more the story of a victim. This seems like an accident that you have to recover from, rather than a purposeful plan.
When I got my first ministry call to Brewton, I was fresh out of seminary ready to help this church out with their youth group. How hard could it be? On my literal first day on the job, on the way to Sunday church, I got into an accident that totaled my car. Then after driving around the youth van for a couple weeks, rumbling along with the crumbs, smells, and questionable vehicle maintenance of several ski trips from ages gone by, I got to meet, really meet, my youth group. Forty kids, virtually all of whom grew up entirely differently than I did, most of them having no other connection to the church other than Wednesday nights. They were mostly there because of one faithful woman who loved on them and the fact that we had a basketball gym at the church. They didn’t really know anything about the Bible, and could fist fight to the point where the youngest of them probably could have taken me down. They had burned many bridges with people who had tried to volunteer for Wednesday nights, and many times I was so stressed (mostly needlessly, as it would turn out) about fights my heart rate would fool my Apple Watch into thinking I was exercising two hours before any would show up. I often, to my shame, thought I was in the wrong place.
Do you know why I thought I was in the wrong place? Because things were hard. I was personally uncomfortable. Because I was having a hard time, I thought God should have sent someone else. Could He have sent someone else? Sure. But He sent me. That was clear. Every other avenue closed. Sometimes it felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there, but feelings are often a poor interpreter of reality. I know God sent me because that is where I was. He had something for me to do, and that’s why He put me there. And my role isn’t to question God’s decision on that. My role is to be faithful to His command and serve the people right in front of me. That’s what Joseph does here. That’s what you need to be doing here, too. You need to be a blessing to those who are around you.
Look at what happens with Joseph. Yes, he is very far away, yet everything is going really well for Potiphar. The finances are in order, the crops are coming in like they never had before, and it seems like the more he gives Joseph to do, the better it goes for it. The word that is used for “left” is different than the usual Hebrew word for “gave” but has the connotation of abandonment (Matthews). Potiphar is so sure of Joseph’s God that he practically drops everything knowing Joseph is going to pick it up.
Why is everything going so well? Is it because Joseph is such a capable administrator? Well, he certainly works hard, but we find the real answer in verse 2: the Lord is with Joseph. Despite all odds, Joseph becomes the ruler-slave, and he has only God to thank for it. Obviously, Joseph worked hard, but verse 3 is pretty clear that it is the Lord who caused things to succeed. God worked through Joseph’s place and Joseph’s work right where he was when he was.
You can think of it like a battery powered drill. What puts the screw in the wall, the drill bit or the battery? The answer is yes. The battery provides the power for the bit. It wouldn’t spin on its own, it desperately needs the battery. God is ultimately behind Joseph’s success, but God chose to work through Joseph to bring blessing to the Egyptian house. It was blessed because Joseph, specifically, was there, and God, specifically, was with Him. There isn’t a point in debating where the work of one ends and the other begins, because God has chosen to use the work of His people where they are. Both are necessary. God has chosen to bless and bless for Joseph’s sake. It’s all grace.
Is that how things continue to work today for us, or was that just Joseph? After all, Abraham’s children get the covenant blessing which includes being a blessing to nations that bless them. We certainly see that for Joseph, but what about us? I think the answer is the same.
I’ve got a bit of odd text for this, but it is 1 Corinthians 7:13–14 “If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” In other words, Paul is saying that there is an effect that a believer has in their relationships. This isn’t saying that people are automatically saved by being close to a Christian, but there is obviously some sort of blessing attached such that Paul tells believers not to separate from an unbelieving spouse as long as they are willing to stay. I think that being around someone who has the Holy Spirit living inside them has an impact.
How practically does that work? Look with me at 1 Peter 3:1. Once again, the topic is mixed marriages, and listen to Peter’s counsel: “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,” How are people won? Seeing your conduct. How is your conduct transformed? The power of the Holy Spirit in your life. How is the Holy Spirit’s power manifested to a group of people? Your presence in their lives. Where you are matters, because you are bringing Jesus with you, as evidenced by a transformed life. Where you live matters because of how you live.
But we cannot forget that it is God that makes the work prosper, when He wants it to. This is often why Christians are so bad at taking complements. We just want to point to God and say, “He is the One who made this work.” Any spiritual benefit that you receive from my sermons isn’t because I’m clever. It is because the Holy Spirit is applying it to your life. Now, it’s true that preachers are necessary. We see exactly this in Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Your work isn’t unneeded. But God is always the One who brings impact to that work, as we see in Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Hearing, and the faith it produces, doesn’t come from preachers, but Christ’s words.
Does this not bring significance to your daily life? When you go to the grocery store, you are bringing the Holy Spirit with you. The words you speak and the obedient life you try to live will have an effect on those around you. That is the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you. When things go well, you give glory to God. If things go poorly because of your sin, repent to God. And if things go poorly even though you did the right thing, you trust in God. We will explore that more next week.
So how do you get to enjoy this presence? One, you have to spend some time thinking about it. In these days of being everywhere all the time, many of us just don’t stop to think about life as it really is. So maybe this afternoon you spend some time reflecting on the on the fact that God hasn’t placed you where you are randomly. I know it feels that way sometimes, but God doesn’t make mistakes nor is He haphazard in how He does things. He purposefully put you there to be a blessing to those around you.
You may say, “Yes, I have accepted that, but you don’t understand, I am wildly unqualified to be the blessing in the situation God put me in.” You’re right! That’s why after knowing you are here for a reason, you, secondly, realize that you aren’t the only factor in bringing blessing to your situation. Finding success in where you are doesn’t come from looking deep in your heart to find the potential. That’s what we see in all the movies, right? “Just believe in yourself!” Hogwash! The drill bit doesn’t need to believe in itself, it needs to be connected to a battery that will turn it. God will bring that blessing, and you have to remind yourself of that daily. Pray for that help everyday. Stay in His Word. Make sure that you are feeding you soul what it needs and not always giving it things that make you less obedient to what He wants from you.
What might this look like?
Kids, let me talk to you more specifically for a second. Most of you in here have siblings. God gave those siblings to you. They are supposed to be there. You are supposed to be there. But they aren’t always easy to get along with, are they? They take your toys and invade your rooms! Sometimes in your worst moment you think, “I wish they weren’t here!” But that’s wrong. God doesn’t make mistakes. He put you right where you are supposed to be. So when your siblings make you mad, take a deep breath, and then say to yourself, “God put me here.” Then pray, “Jesus, help me be a blessing here.” And then do what your parents have told you to do. That’s your job. This is especially true if you are an older sibling. Your younger siblings are looking to you. They are watching how you act. Be a blessing to them by following Jesus. Who knows? They just might follow Jesus, too, because you are.
Adults, this applies to us, too. How often do your friends or even you children hear you complain? What are you really saying by doing that? Complaining is a fancy way of saying God made a mistake. I made this mistake all the time in Brewton. Poor Abby had to listen to my sinful heart Wednesday night after Wednesday night after youth group. I was focused on how my situation should be blessing me rather than how I could be a blessing to the situation. Its exhausting to be around. And ultimately untrue. I learned so much from Brewton, that it was, looking back, one of the greatest blessings to my pastoral life. Anything I do well today is because of what I learned there.
Instead of complaining, pray. That’s what Jesus does in the Garden before the cross. He was honest about His heart, nevertheless He prayed, “Your will be done.” Then He stood up and did what God’s plan was, which was to die for your complaining.
Face your situation, remind yourself that God has you here for a reason, pray for Jesus’ help to be a blessing, and then get onto doing His will. Even if you are where you are because of sin, remind yourself that God has brought whatever consequences are happening. Then pray for the power to do what is right, right now.
Finally, remember that you won’t always be in this situation. A day is coming in which all that is mysterious, unfair, and hard will vanish. Your life is a vapor, and even more so is your trouble. Many of our troubles are short-lived even by our own lifespans’ standards. How much more in the light of eternity? Trust God’s plan where you are, and live out the conduct He wills, and you will be a blessing right where you are because God is right there with you. Jesus promised just that in Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” He wasn’t kidding. He is with you. And He is there to bless through you.