What Joseph's story says to us

Joseph was willing to follow God’s plan. Are we seeking God; is God seeking us? When does God find you? If God finds you are you willing to go with God?

These are hard question.

We are all seeking something in our life. We may be seeking status, pleasure, or greater indulgence in life or it may be something to help others. God is seeking us and we must be willing to go where God wishes us to go. Just as Joseph was taken in slavery to Egypt but later occupies the most responsible position in the land. God has a plan for each of us.

This all depends on being found by God then to be open to God’s request. One must be willing to remain open to God.

Joseph the dreamer

Joseph dreamed, but isn’t this what people who are called by God do? All people who are called by God to dream. All people dream but some seem to have a special ability or talent in dreaming. This seems to be the case of Joseph. Joseph was born to dream not to herd sheep.

The narrator of the Joseph story understands that dreams are a gift from God. Did Joseph receive this gift from Jacob as well as being encouraged along the way? To support Joseph, we find a boy with eleven brothers; the elder brothers had occupied places of service in the family, leaving him without a traditional place. Joseph finds that being a dreamer is a wide open field in the family.

The negative side of dreams is they cause conflicts in the family. Joseph’s dreams have destroyed the pecking order in the family. The elder brothers in following tradition would be the one with authority. Even Jacob’s authority is challenged.

We fast forward to the end of the story to interpret the dream to mean that God had a plan for Joseph. This plan included bringing the family back together as well as saving it from the famine. The even larger plan is to save all of Israel. The story changes at this point from Israel as an individual to Israel as a nation.

Did Joseph have any idea of how he would be used by God? Can we interpret events in our life today in relationship of how God will be using us in the future?

What are you seeking?

Sheree began with a quote for Augustine, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” If each of are honest, we would admit that there is a restlessness within all of us.

Joseph is the youngest of the brothers so he is not invited in on most of the fun. Joseph’s challenge is to spoil as much of the fun for all his brothers as he can possible accomplish. To make matters even worse Joseph was Daddy’s favorite. All the favoritism Joseph lost with his brothers was made up by his father.

The first significant point in Joseph’s story is his wandering in the area. The family had a history of wandering in this area of the world. Abraham and Sarah began the wondering, followed by Jacob wandering until he met God. Now Joseph is wandering around Shechem and Dothan until he finds his brothers. Joseph is not only a wander but also a dreamer. His dreaming is the source of his problem with his brothers. The brothers are not fond of the idea of their little brother being in charge of the family.

A man finds him wandering in the fields and asked, “What are you seeking?” Joseph responds, “My brothers who are grazing the sheep.” They are not here; they have gone to Dothan.

Who is sees us wandering around in our restlessness? Do we have someone to point us in the right direction? We, like Joseph, are wanders but sometimes we do not know what we are seeking. This sermon tells us that it is God we seek. Can Joseph teach us how to search?

What are you seeking?