Last Sunday’s sermon was about Joseph. Here it is Thursday and I still can’t get some aspects of that sermon out of my head. When we strip away the gauzy, fluffy, artistic trappings of the Christmas story and look at Joseph as a Jewish man in his day, we see what an amazing person he was! He said “no” to every temptation to strike out at Mary when she turned up pregnant. He apparently did not shake his fist at God when his heart was crushed by Mary’s news. He thought the matter over carefully and considered what he should do before he humbly decided to keep the matter as quiet as possible.
That is the human side of things. But if we go into the presence of God the whole story looks so very different. Only God and Mary knew that Mary was still a virgin and that the child she was carrying was the Son of God. God didn’t tell Joseph this fact until after Joseph had already decided to divorce Mary quietly. God’s plan inflicted the most agonizing pain possible on the heart of Joseph. And God knew that he was causing Joseph’s suffering! And God let Joseph continue suffering through the entire time that Joseph was reflecting and considering. Finally, God sent an angel into Joseph’s dreams to let him know the truth.
Yes, Joseph was a righteous and faithful man of God. But I realize that this isn’t about Joseph! It isn’t about Joseph’s pain and grief. It’s about God and his glory. It’s about Jesus. It’s about God’s plan to redeem his people. It’s about God’s covenant with Abraham. It’s way, way bigger than Joseph. Joseph’s suffering was all for the glory of God!
That’s what keeps spinning around in my head. God’s plan may very well cause us pain and sorrow but we have to be careful to remember that it’s not all about us. God may bring hurt into the lives of his righteous ones, but it’s not about the hurt; it’s about God and his glory! The natural thing for us to do when we are hurting is to focus on the pain. It becomes all about the suffering. It may be difficult, but we need to remember that it is still all about God!
The comforting part of Joseph’s story is that God did send the angel into his dreams. God did rescue Joseph before he did something he shouldn’t have done. God did relieve his pain before it pushed him over the edge. When we are in the midst of our suffering we often wonder if it will ever end. The comforting thing is that God never pushes us past the point of endurance. He never allows us to suffer for no reason. It is all for the good, our good and the glory of God.
There’s really no difference between our good and the glory of God. Our good is the glory of God and God’s glory is our good!
What do you think? Thanks for stopping by.
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