On one of the mission trips I was on in Haiti, we had the opportunity to observe a funeral. It was very interesting, and more similar to biblical funerals than our North American ones. There was a long procession of people, many dressed in their best clothes. We also knew they were coming before we saw them because the people were mourning loudly – wailing as they poured out their grief.
Grief is a common experience of life in this fallen world. We grieve the death of loved ones – as with Jacob and Joseph in our reading today. Even when we know their faith in Jesus as their savior and that they’ve gone to heaven, we miss the ones we love and feel the loss. We also grieve the distance between friends who move away (or we’ve moved away from), changes in our jobs, struggles in our marriages, troubles with our children, and much more. It’s easy to allow ourselves to either bottle up the grief and pretend it doesn’t exist, or get overwhelmed by it. Neither of these is healthy.
Joseph knew grief in his lifetime, and, as we wrap up reading Genesis, we could go back over and think of all the times he could have sat down in despair and sadness and just given up. But he never did.
Why not?
I think we see the answer in Joseph’s conversation with his brothers after their father’s death. They came with fear that, now that dad was dead, Joseph would take revenge on them. Joseph wept tears of grief when he heard their plea. Revenge was far from his mind. He said, “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.”
Even when Joseph could not see God’s plan, he trusted that there was one. When Joseph was confused and hurt and sorrowful, he could still return to God and know that His plan was good.
That’s not always easy to do. Humanly speaking, sometimes it’s impossible. With our earthly sight and understanding it is easy to come up with the conclusion that we should give up hope because God either doesn’t care or can’t do anything about our suffering. But faith, given by the Holy Spirit and empowered by God’s Word, sees something different.
Faith sees that God uses suffering, grief, and hardship and brings beauty out of the ashes of our lives. He helps us to learn perseverance, develops our character and gives us hope in the midst of difficult times. He keeps us looking forward to a new creation and a heavenly home where we will live in perfect resurrected bodies. He also teaches us to depend on him in faith.
Ultimately, God saved the whole world – you and me included – through suffering. He used death to redeem us. As Jesus suffered and died, we were reconciled to God, and the division between us was removed. Remember, if God can use the cross – that symbol of suffering and shame – to do the ultimate good by cleansing us of our sins – he can use the grief we bear as well to His glory.
Father in Heaven, thank you for grief. That feels weird to say. Help me to see where you are using hard times to shape me for your service, and help me to rejoice in the salvation Jesus won for me. Amen.
Grief is a common experience of life in this fallen world. We grieve the death of loved ones – as with Jacob and Joseph in our reading today. Even when we know their faith in Jesus as their savior and that they’ve gone to heaven, we miss the ones we love and feel the loss. We also grieve the distance between friends who move away (or we’ve moved away from), changes in our jobs, struggles in our marriages, troubles with our children, and much more. It’s easy to allow ourselves to either bottle up the grief and pretend it doesn’t exist, or get overwhelmed by it. Neither of these is healthy.
Joseph knew grief in his lifetime, and, as we wrap up reading Genesis, we could go back over and think of all the times he could have sat down in despair and sadness and just given up. But he never did.
Why not?
I think we see the answer in Joseph’s conversation with his brothers after their father’s death. They came with fear that, now that dad was dead, Joseph would take revenge on them. Joseph wept tears of grief when he heard their plea. Revenge was far from his mind. He said, “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.”
Even when Joseph could not see God’s plan, he trusted that there was one. When Joseph was confused and hurt and sorrowful, he could still return to God and know that His plan was good.
That’s not always easy to do. Humanly speaking, sometimes it’s impossible. With our earthly sight and understanding it is easy to come up with the conclusion that we should give up hope because God either doesn’t care or can’t do anything about our suffering. But faith, given by the Holy Spirit and empowered by God’s Word, sees something different.
Faith sees that God uses suffering, grief, and hardship and brings beauty out of the ashes of our lives. He helps us to learn perseverance, develops our character and gives us hope in the midst of difficult times. He keeps us looking forward to a new creation and a heavenly home where we will live in perfect resurrected bodies. He also teaches us to depend on him in faith.
Ultimately, God saved the whole world – you and me included – through suffering. He used death to redeem us. As Jesus suffered and died, we were reconciled to God, and the division between us was removed. Remember, if God can use the cross – that symbol of suffering and shame – to do the ultimate good by cleansing us of our sins – he can use the grief we bear as well to His glory.
Father in Heaven, thank you for grief. That feels weird to say. Help me to see where you are using hard times to shape me for your service, and help me to rejoice in the salvation Jesus won for me. Amen.
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