Sunday Message: The part of Joseph we didn't get

This week, another friend lost her fur baby.  The next morning, I began to talk it out with God about all the loses around me this year.  I wondered if it was just that this has been a very bad year... or if MY loss just made me notice the others more.  Maybe, it's a cyclical thing, I thought. Years that I have it "good", others are where I am now, or worse.


Not much of a comfort, there.


And I thought about Jarrid Wilson.  He was an associate pastor at Greg Laurie's Harvest Church, with a ministry for people struggling with suicidal thoughts, because he fought them himself on a daily basis.

Jarrid lost that battle himself.  Shortly before, he posted this:

“Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure suicidal thoughts. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure depression. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure PTSD. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure anxiety. But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t offer us companionship and comfort. He ALWAYS does that.” 


And as I prayed again for his wife and young family, it struck me hard.

Not every victim of this depression survives.
Not every addict gets cured.
Not every Bahamanian who cried out to God for protection from the storm got it.


And it struck me again.

Jesus didn't heal every leper.
He didn't raise up every death he encountered.
He didn't calm every storm.



Sometimes, He cried.

Happy endings.  That thought made me think of Joseph, who we've been studying in depth for a few weeks.  Sure, he ended up ruling Egypt, he became LIKE Pharaoh.  Emphasis, though on became.

But while he was JOSEPH, what happened to him?

He was loyal to his father, and gained the hatred of his brothers.
He was gifted by God, and rebuked by his family.
He was cast into a terrible situation, losing family, father, everything he loved.
But he pulled it together, made a success of himself, and what happened? One lie brought it all down.
But he pulled it together, and even in his trial remained true to himself, his God, his faith.  He helped others.
His reward?  To be forgotten and ignored.

That is our life on earth.  The being lifted up out of prison, washed and shaved, dressed in the fine robes and getting the keys to the kingdom?  That's the NEXT life.

In these days, we have to remind each other that this is true.
Not every suicide survives. Not every addiction is broken.  Not every mortal life is saved.
But EVERY life has a shot at the happy ending.  And THAT ending isn't here.