For Good

“There is a plan,” my long-time friend said with confidence as we sat at the diner.  And I paused and said, “Is it a plan for good?” And she said, “I don’t know…I just know there is a plan.”

I think that is the way a lot of people feel – believers or not. Even the most skeptical people, even non-religious people often admit that there is some force at work in this world, mostly invisible but sometimes visible.

Maybe they call it fate, or science or divinity or something else.  You can hear it echoed in cultural messages in songs and films too.

I think it comes from a desire to believe that in the midst of all this chaos, there might be a plan or purpose to it all. Whether that plan is for good, well, that takes faith, a lot of faith to believe that.

But what if I told you that there is a plan and it is for good…

Let me ask you this – Is there a way for something that starts with sin to become something of grace? Have you ever seen it?

If you can answer “yes” with even just a shred of interest or confidence – please read on…

You’ve probably heard the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-46) from the Bible or from the musical (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat).  Basically, Joseph was the younger brother who had big dreams and his brothers resented that. They sold him into slavery and told his father that he was killed. I know, it’s awful. Joseph goes to Egypt and goes through many trials including prison but ultimately because of his faith winds up being a key administrative ruler in Egypt at the time of a great famine in the region.

The same brothers are forced to go to Egypt to beg for food during this famine. It’s many years later and they don’t recognize the powerful man to whom they are petitioning. But he recognizes them. And in his humanity, he begins to put them through all sorts of hoops, to begin to exact revenge on them. But he couldn’t go through with it.

“Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out…And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, the household of Pharaoh heard it (Genesis 45:1-2). This happens to us when we try to contain sin, guilt, and pain. We were not meant to hold onto all of it; also we weren’t meant to take our pain out on everybody with bitterness and rage.

And so the reveal…

“Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence (Genesis 45:3).” This is better than any Hollywood Script. Imagine the brothers’ reaction. “Our sins have come back to haunt us. Here he is the one we got rid of and his dream has come true. He is Lord over us – but not for what we thought…”

Because with God, with this plan, things aren’t always what they seem…

Joseph tells them, “And now, do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life (Genesis 45:5).” “And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him (Genesis 45:15).”

A dream had come true – God’s dream superseded Joseph’s dream and the path it took for it to be fulfilled was not a yellow-brick road but a broken road with a lot of detours. Sound familiar? And I have to tell you that the plan often becomes more visible when we acknowledge that the brokenness and detours are part of it – never beyond God’s knowledge or power.

It was an impossible dream, it is an impossible dream that Jacob’s son could be alive; that brothers are reunited in harmony; that even Joseph’s dream of powerful becomes a reality – but for a grace-filled purpose – to save his family from famine.

Scholar and author Walter Brueggemann tells us that the Joseph narrative was a new way of communicating faith in the Old Testament. It involved more sophisticated story telling and yet, “It urges that the in the contingencies of history, the purposes of God are at work in hidden and unnoticed ways. But the ways of God are nonetheless reliable and will come to fruition.” Because sin, pride, and ambition cannot derail what God has planned for us – Providence! Similarly, when Jesus went to the cross, what the disciples saw was very different from what was happening.

In fact the New Testament summary for this whole idea of Providence is, “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).” I asked earlier if there is a way in which something that starts out as sin can become something of grace; and the answer is yes – it’s called Providence. Hear also this definition of Providence, “The continuous active involvement of God in the created universe; his supervision of all things from the creation to eternity.”

And there is more good news! While the resurrection and Joseph’s story are awesome and clear, I’ve (and you have too) heard dozens of stories in real-time and real life about God’s grace overriding even the worst of circumstances and yielding goodness, healing and restoration. All those times you and I have seen things “work out” for the best. Lemonade from lemons? It’s not coincidence or karma; it’s God’s grace and power.

So, can we come to a place in our lives, where we see our wounds, our mistakes and failures, disease, apathy and wickedness, even death – all of these terrible circumstances as part of a larger plan that we know and are convinced is for our ultimate good? And to be sure, Providence does not excuse or erase wickedness, apathy or other things; nor does it take delight in failures or catastrophes – it lovingly and compassionately supersedes and overrules them.

And so for my dear friend at the diner who has endured so much already and for all of you who are, have been or will be in the middle of terrible circumstances…

Yes…yes there is a plan; it’s not just any plan, it’s God’s plan, and it is for good – so good we can’t even imagine the possibilities…

Amen.

 

Rev. Christopher B. Wolf

Isaiah 42:7

cbrianwolf@gmail.com

www.christopherbwolf.com

Christopher B. Wolf is pastor of First Reformed Church of Saddle Brook, New Jersey. He is the author of Giving Faith a Second Chance: Restarts, Mulligans and Do-Overs (2007) and the forthcoming, With You Every Step of the Way (2011).

“It is a matter of sharing and bearing the pain and puzzlement of the world so that the crucified love of God in Christ may be brought to bear healingly upon the world at exactly that point.” N.T. Wright

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Give it a Rest

Genesis 2:1-3

Give It a Rest (Remix of Sunday’s (8/24) message – audio download – http://www.firstgrandville.org/content.cfm?id=213&category_id=4

 

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done. “ Genesis 2:1-2

 

 

Hey, I have a couple of questions for you.

 

When was the last time you were without your cell phone, Blackberry or PDA?

 

Do you often think that everything will fall apart if you are not there (work, family, etc.)?

 

Do you feel like things are spinning out of control and you don’t know how you will keep it all together?

 

Here we are on the edge of the “busy” season for many businesses, and school and church starting again – as well as all the activities that accompany those commitments. We look at our calendars with dismay and wonder how it will all happen – and what will be left of us by October.  

 

You see, we weren’t designed to be on the brink of falling apart physically and emotionally.

 

There is a better way.

 

It is actually God’s design, which He built into the system. That is what this idea of rest is about in this passage.

 

Think about it. Why does an omnipotent, all-powerful Creator God need to rest? He didn’t and doesn’t. Remember, He neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121).

 

So why is this rest in here. One main reason is that He knew that we are limited. There is only so much a human can take – physically, mentally and emotionally.

 

If you are at the end of your rope now, or are not too far, you know this.

 

But there is spiritual element to rest also. When we try accomplish so much, when we convince ourselves that we are so important, we are essentially saying that we don’t trust the Lord. We are saying we trust our power over God’s power. What can any of us, in any part of life, add or subtract from what God does? This is what happens when we put ourselves in the center rather than God being there. When God built rest into His design, it was in part because He has everything under control. I know it may not seem like it sometimes (many times) but He does. He is sovereign. And so often we think that if we do more, try harder, keep stretching, we can do what God can do. Wrong. And worse, it is dangerous for us, for our relationships and for others.

 

Besides, boundaries mean health. I know our society really likes to hold up over-achievers. But in the end it isn’t health. Again, not the way God designed us. There is a time for work and there is plenty of work to do; but there is also a time for rest.

 

What is sacred today? Very little. Why? Because we refuse to say “no” to so much – no boundaries. Keeping things sacred in society or in our own lives often can start with drawing a line. Saying “no” to the world is saying “yes” to God.

 

And when we think of saying “yes” to God or “yes” to holiness, we often think of a checklist that we need fulfill. This passage offers a path to holiness by abstaining – by resting. Holiness as acknowledging God over ourselves, His power over our power; and by obeying – because He wants to sustain us through our being in relationship with Him.

 

God designed this world and everything in it, and it was good. And He is so good that He designed within His creation, a way of restoration, a way of life giving, a protective seal called rest. God is the author of life; and in a world full of sin, decay and death – He still provides rest, blessing and holiness.

 

Oh what we are missing by ignoring this idea of resting in the Lord! As a pastor and brother in Christ, with this message today, I don’t want to see you work and work and work and ultimately wear out and burn out, when this gift of rest was there for you all along.

 

Hear the tender voice of Jesus calling, “Come to me all you who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest…(Matthew 11:28).”

 

There can be an end to the chaos and the endless chases that end in emptiness.

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Can you name something that you can start to rest from today?
2. Why do you think it is hard to let go of controlling things?
3. Who is in charge of your life, God or you? Do your actions and thoughts reflect your answer? Is that the way you want it?
4. Do you find it hard to say “no?” Why do you think this is?
5. What is one thing or part of your life that you can start to make sacred today?

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