September 26th

Joseph Elevated

            Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—one in whom is the spirit of God?”  So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.  You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”  And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”  Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.  He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:38-43

            This is the moment when it all becomes Worth It.  Right?  All of the suffering that Joseph has gone through…all of the betrayal…all of the sleepless nights and agonizing days.  Joseph plummeted from favorite son to slave to prisoner and now he stands as the second in command of the greatest nation in the world with God granting him wisdom and the people about to turn to him for salvation.  This is the moment that we point to and say, “This is why Joseph had to suffer.  Everything worked out in the end so it was all worth it.”

            The myth of Worth It is false for two substantial reasons:

·         Joseph’s story does not end here.  The final decades of his life are not simply happily ever after.  There is struggle.  There is heartbreak.  There is reconciliation.  There is still suffering to come.

·         The Bible is filled to the brim with stories of faithful suffering that do not end in wealth and fame and power.  Abel, John the Baptist, Hosea, most of the apostles, all of the prophets.  The point of suffering cannot be to prepare us to live in success unless we have an eternal perspective. 

            The myth of Worth It can be found today in “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  The belief is that the pain that we go through is good for us because it creates stronger individuals.  My facebook feed is filled with people talking about how strong they are because of the trials they have faced…just before they post about how broken they are and how badly their relationships are going.

            Suffering is not Worth It because it leads us to winning at life.  Suffering is worth it because it leads us to Jesus.   We do not become stronger by enduring the cruelties of life; they simply leave us physically compromised and emotionally broken.  We become stronger by being healed by God and discovering that it is His strength that allows us to navigate these treacherous waters unscathed.

            Our children suffer in every way imaginable.  They are social outcasts or in physical pain or systematically oppressed or emotionally scarred.  They absorb their share of the cruelties of this life and then some.  Those wounds are not Worth It because they will some day be rich and famous and respected.  Those scars are not Worth It because they are getting stronger and stronger. 

            Their suffering is only worth it if Jesus looks at them and claims them as His own.  Jesus identified himself as a man of sorrows and suffering.  He knows the pain.  He knows the isolation.  He knows the sorrow of being left behind through no fault of His own.  And Jesus holds a special place in His heart for all those who have tasted that bitterness in this life.  And just as our children have shared in His suffering during their lives, they will share in His glory in Eternity.  They will run and leap and laugh and sing as they finally reap the benefits of a hard life.

            Everyone suffers in this life.  The only way that it makes us better is if it brings us to the One who overcame Sin and Death so that we could truly live.

A moment to reflect:

What do you need to happen for this parenting journey to be Worth It?