Post Sunday April 6, 2008

“All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, No I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning. Thus his father wept for him. Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar…” Genesis 37:34-36

As we continue to pick away at the pits of betrayal and learn from Joseph how to not just deal with betrayal but arise from it, I do not want to dismiss the fact that there is truly heartbreak and despair within those pits. It is not an easy thing to be at the bottom of that pit and the fear of remaining trapped below the surface of life is a natural fear that will unfortunately always haunt us while in those situations. Will I ever recover from this? Can I recover from this? Where did I go wrong? What did I do wrong? I never want to see him/her again? I want to start over again…so many thoughts, so many emotions and how will we move on from this, does God really care? Does anyone really care where I am right now?

We see and read the story of Joseph and within a few minutes reading time we see him go from the depths of despair to the highest of heights. Reality is and we touched on it in Sunday’s lifessage is the fact is he first had a 30 day through the desert then he served Potiphar for 10 years and then after Potiphar’s wife lied and got Joseph thrown back into a prison (the Hebrew word that most translations translate to prison, dungeon or jail actually means pit!). He was in that prison for another 2 plus years! Joseph’s journey out of his pit is not as quick as we are able to read it. Our lives, our pasts when we look back on them can seem short, but when we are actually in the moment of our betrayal every day seems like a lifetime.

Are we alone? Are we forgotten? Genesis 37:34-36 sheds some light on it, while Joseph was experiencing his pain of betrayal, his father was weeping for him and he refused to be comforted. You may be surprised to find those who are praying and weeping for you behind the scenes. When you are hurting there certainly are those that like Joseph’s brothers camp out right above you and callously eat lunch and discuss your demise, but they are not the only ones that God has placed in your world.

Who did God place in Joseph’s world during the time of His betrayal for we know that Joseph cried out from the pit…(Genesis 42:21 "We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.") God heard His cry (Psalm 40:1-2) for the brothers would have killed Him, but He sent the Midianite or Ishmaelite (same thing, see Judges 8:22-28) traders along at just the right time which put an alternate thought in the mind of one of Joseph’s brothers (Judah). That alternate thought spared Joseph’s life and sent him to Egypt. God connected Joseph (who was now a slave on the free market, available to be sold to anyone with cash) with Potiphar. Potiphar was no ordinary Egyptian, he was a high ranking official and Joseph’s learning curve of Egyptian culture, demographics and politics had to have been at the highest level, which that knowledge would later help serve the purpose God intended for Him. In prison, Joseph was connected to the Pharaoh’s cupbearer. Cupbearer, so what? The cupbearer daily had access to the Pharaoh (Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer) and when the time was right that cupbearer was able to present Joseph to Pharaoh.

God heard Joseph’s cry and orchestrated a series of events that only God could possibly have foreseen. Jacob, Joseph’s father was behind the scenes mourning his son, Joseph was not forgotten and forsaken and neither are you, you are deeply loved of God, you are His beloved in no matter what state you find yourself in. Because Joseph continued to look up from his pit instead of down and around he was able to move forward with these ever so subtle (but in the end incredibly loud) acts of God.

Why did God coordinate such a series of events in Joseph’s life? We know the final answer which we will continue to uncover but think of one of the smaller issues (if we can call it small!)…If Reuben’s plan to bring him back would have worked, do you think the brother’s would have stopped hating him suddenly? No of course not, being down in Egypt was a much safer place! Death threats would have been daily back home!

Take an honest look at your pit(s) and take an honest look at the events leading up to your pit and the events surrounding your pit(s).

What events did God orchestrate to help you arise from your pit? What people did God send into your life to help you arise from your pit or comfort you during your time within it?



Be honest with yourself and with God, have your pits of life helped improve your character or cause instead bring about bitterness and mistrust?



Read Psalm 40

What does God desire to come out of your pit? (See Psalm 40:2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, I’m sure there is even more!)


Who takes responsibility for the one who has betrayed you? (Psalm 40:13-15)


Is there anyone that you found out was praying and weeping for you behind the scenes either recently or in your past? Take some time and let them know that they helped you from your pit and that you are now or are on your way to solid ground.

This coming Sunday we’ll take a look at the types of people that we tend to find around our pits, some can help, some….well, let’s just say they have a way of digging our pits even deeper.