CONQUERING THROUGH HOPE: THE CONFLICT FOR HOPE

“Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.  And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.” Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.  Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”  So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.  Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.  Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!  Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” (Gen.37:12-20)

Joseph’s brothers are not so thrilled with his dreams.  They determined to end them—and crush his hope.  They do a good job! 

There will always be dream-dashers whose mission in life is to pull you down to their level.  They have a pit to chunk you into as these brothers did to Joseph. 

But for Joseph, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire.  It seemed all downhill—into a pit, into chains, down to Egypt, into prison—down, down, down!  Ever feel like life itself is a “downer”?  It is hard to maintain any semblance of hope when every circumstance cries out to the contrary!  You will have to fight for hope—there is a conflict and you are in combat to keep what God has put in you from being conquered by all that is happening around you!

From his brothers’ evil clutches, Joseph will be delivered into the hands of the Midianites who make him a marketable commodity.  He will be a good slave and a blessing to a man named Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh’s guard, but Mrs. Potiphar lusts for him and seeks Joseph’s affections.  Salivating at the possibility of bedding with this Hebrew hunk, she appeals, “C’mon over big boy!”  She sets the temptation before him wrapped in perfumed sheets of silk day after day.

He rejects this as a sin against God!  It still is by the way!  When she grabs hold of him and seeks to pull him into bed, he runs and she tears loose his garment and then cries out that Joseph tried to rape her.  The proof is in her hand.  As has been oft repeated, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

All he had tried to do was honor God—and what did he get for his faithfulness?  Fetters!  His reward for devotion was the dungeon!  He is cast into prison. 

But when Pharaoh’s baker burns the biscuits and his butler spills wine on the carpet, they just so happen to wind up sharing a cell with Joseph.  No coincidence—it was providence! 

They have a dream and Joseph interprets it—good news and bad news—the baker will have his head lifted off in execution and the butler will have his head lifted up in employment. 

The butler promises Joseph that he won’t forget him!

But, he did.  Joseph would be there in shackles for two more years!  It seemed all hope was gone—but Joseph trusted in the promises and timing of God.  There is more to the story than meets the eye.  The butler may have forgotten Joseph, but God had not.

Yet, it does seem at times that God has forgotten us.  We languish long in a prison of problems.  Just when we think things can’t get any worse—they do!  Our prayers echo from the ceiling and mock us.  There is a conflict in our soul between the assurances God has expressed and the adversity we are experiencing.

Will you fight for hope?