… in our series of studies in Genesis, carrying on in our series in The Life of Joseph. And I want to speak tonight on the subject, there’s always hope. There’s always hope. Come with me to Genesis 48 in verse 11. In fact, we’ll back up into verse 10. The text brings us to a poignant scene as Jacob’s days draw to a close. He’s now been in the land of Egypt with Joseph for 17 years. He realizes that his days are numbered and he brings in his sons and blesses them. And he brings in Joseph’s sons, his grandsons, to bless them. It’s a poignant scene. And out of it comes these wonderful words in verse 11. But let’s just back up into verse 10. “Now the eyes of Israel …” That’s Jacob, “The eyes of Israel were dim with age so they could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him …” That’s the sons.
And he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph. “I had not thought to see your face, but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring.” There’s always hope. In fact, let’s cross-reference that verse with Psalm 27. Psalm 27 in verse 13. I want you to note this contrast in language, where Jacob in Genesis 48 verse 11 said, “I had not thought to see.” Here’s what the psalmist says in Psalm 27 verse 13. “I would’ve lost heart unless I had believed, that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, wait I say on the Lord.” There’s a great exchange that takes place between Churchill, the prime minister of Great Britain, and Eamon de Valera, the first-time president of the Irish Republic. And in the conversation that gathered, they exchanged these words talking about the situation in Britain.
Churchill says to Eamon de Valera, “You know, the situation in Britain is serious but not hopeless.” The Irish prime minister reporting the situation in Ireland says to Churchill, “Well in Ireland things are hopeless but not serious.” Well folks, I’m here to tell you, when things get hopeless, things get serious. Because what breath is to the body, hope is to the soul. When one loses hope life becomes a slow and agonizing death. A future without hope is a day without sunlight. Hell is hopelessness. Hope is an important thing to lay hold of, and to grasp and be gripped by. In fact, in studies of men who have been POWs in prisoner camps, those who have died were no less physically strong than those who survived. But the difference seems to be that those who survived talked about what they would do when they would get out.
They dreamed and anticipated what life would be like beyond the current situation they were in. And that hopeful attitude led to physiological and psychological changes that improved their immune system, and the body’s defense against disease and weakness. Hope is a powerful medicine. In fact, the Bible tells us doesn’t it? In Proverbs 13 verse 12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick. But when the desire comes, or when the desire is fulfilled, it’s a tree of life.” The Bible acknowledges that at what breath is to the body, hope is to the soul. You’ve heard the statement, where there’s life, there’s hope. Let’s turn that on its head to be more truthful, where there’s hope, there’s life. Hopelessness is a slow death, but hope is a tree of life. And what is hope?
Hope is the promise of something better. It’s the anticipation of a change for the better, and it’s a wonderful thing. Someone has said that there is one thing that gives radiance to everything, and it’s the idea of something better around the corner. As we talk about the subject of hope, I want to come into the text of Genesis 48 in verse 11 and see this whole idea, and ideal fleshed out in the life of Jacob. Because Jacob had lost all hope of ever seeing Joseph again. The Tsar had given away to despair. The march of time some 24 years had trampled underfoot the thought of ever seeing his beloved son face to face. The old man’s heart was sick, because his hope had been deferred. Because we come into this scene here in Genesis 48, the brothers have returned from their second journey to Egypt with the stunning news that Joseph is alive.
We read about it in Genesis 45 in verse 26, if you want to turn there. They returned to their father, verse 25 actually. Then they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father. And they told him saying, “Joseph is still alive.” Wouldn’t you have liked to been there for that moment? Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt, and here’s what the text says. “And Jacob’s heart stood still.” This is a rare verb. It means that he nearly died on the spot, literally nearly died on the spot. You can almost imagine two of the sons running in to hold him as he almost collapses in a heap. The text tells us that his heart almost stopped, because he did not believe them.
But when they went on to tell him all the words which Joseph had said, to which Joseph had… And the carts that were full of the grain, and their father revived in verse 28. Then Israel said, “It is enough, Joseph, my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” What a wonderful passage. And when we get to chapter 48, and Jacob’s looking back, you have this… And I never thought this would happen. I never thought to see your face, never mind the children. I had given up hope. But I am reminded that there’s always hope, in the God of hope, who fills our hearts with joy and peace. Romans 15, verse 13. The hope that had been buried for so many years was exhumed and brought back to life.
It’s a wonderful scene, and I think there’s some lessons for you and I to learn, not to give in to despair. There’s a certain note of despair isn’t there in the honesty of his words? “I had not thought to see.” He didn’t have faith enough, belief enough, to see the dream come true, that Joseph had shared so many years earlier. There’s an acknowledgement that he was really seized with a sense of despair and disappointment, when perhaps he had been better expressing himself in the words of David later on. “I believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” God wants you and I to be people of hope. He’s the God of hope who fills our hearts with joy and peace. We have been born again in Jesus Christ unto a living hope. There’s always hope in the living God.
Our hope need not die because God will not die. And his promises will not feel, and nothing will separate us from his love. Believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And maybe learn from Jacob’s despair, and how he gave up and give in. And yet God in his goodness 24 years later, or somewhere around there, that which he had thought he would never see, he sees. How encouraging is that? God doesn’t want us wallowing in despair. He wants us living in the buoyance of hope. I love the verse in Psalm 71. If you want to turn to it or write it down, Psalm 71 in verse 14. “But I will hope continually, and I will praise you more and more.” That should be the Christian experience. Biblical hope is not a hope so, it’s built on a certain confidence.
It’s not as one cynic described that a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible note. Our confidence, and our expectation, and our assurance of future glory and future good is anchored and set upon God’s person, and God’s promises, and God’s providence. God is immutable. His promises don’t feel, and his providence is unerring. There’s always hope. And let’s learn that lesson tonight. Like the story of the little girl in an examination at school, that the question was asked, “Upon what do hibernating animals subsist during the winter?” And little Emma thought for a few moments and then she wrote this answer. It probably wasn’t the answer the teacher was expecting, but it was a good answer. “All winter long hibernating animals subsist on the hope of a coming spring.”
And you and I need to subsist and survive on the hope of a coming answer to prayer, a promise that’s yet to be fulfilled, a providence that’s yet to be encountered. Now, before we get into the text then I’ve got two simple thoughts tonight, the shadow of despair and the sunshine of hope. I do want to get a little bit of housekeeping out of the way. Because the scene we have come upon tonight raises a question that some people have asked. As we come upon this scene of Joseph’s reunion with his father, some have wondered why Joseph never ever sought his father out. Why didn’t Joseph go up to the father, rather than the father have to come down to the son? Some people would argue this is one of the blots on Joseph’s copybook, but hold your fire, keep your powder dry.
Because, I think there’s some answers to this if you want to reflect on this. He didn’t know the story the brothers had concocted. He didn’t know what had transpired. In fact, he may be asking the question himself, “Why hasn’t my father come looking for me given his circumstances?” It’s not like he was free to leave anytime he wanted. And even when he had a certain freedom and certain authority, he had little opportunity given the mammoth task that lay at hand. But raises the question, then why not a messenger? Given all the resources at his disposal, why didn’t Joseph send someone just to do a little bit of investigation and work for himself? Well, maybe he would incite his father to revenge, and he wouldn’t be there to limit the consequences. Maybe he would set in motion a chain of reaction over which he would have no control.
I think this is the best answer mind you, the dreams indicated that his father and his brothers would come and bow down to him. I think that’s the best answer of them all. And we certainly don’t need to draw any false conclusions from the fact that Joseph didn’t seek out his father as if he was unconcerned about his father. We read in chapter 42 in verse 13, in chapter 43 in verse 27 and 28, how often he presses his brothers who still don’t know they’re talking to a brother, but he kept pressing them. “How’s your father doing?” Because he wanted to know how his father indeed was doing. So with that little bit of textual housekeeping out of the way, let’s look at two simple thoughts tonight, and we’ll be very practical and pastoral tonight.
Let’s just look for a moment or two of what we might call the shadow of despair. For the past 24 years, Jacob has lived under a leaden sky. He has walked to borrow the image of David in Psalm 23 in verse 4, “He has walked in a very deep and dark valley, and the shadow of death cast itself over Jacob many, many times. Despair was his constant companion. I had not thought to see the life that I had written for myself, the life that I had written for sons, not the life I got to live.” And Jacob’s soul had kind of withered and died somewhat. And he had a tendency to look on the dark side of things given all that he had gone through. In fact, when he meets Pharaoh, eventually we read about it in chapter 47 here in verse 9.
Look at how he kind of describes himself and Jacob said to the Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. And they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage. Few and evil have been the years of my life.” Jacob looks back, and he tends to see his life as just one long obstacle course that seems to get harder and tougher along the way. He was a shell of the man he once was. He had lived under it seems, a torrential downpour of trouble. In fact, if he was a cartoonist and drawn something of his life, I think he would’ve drawn a picture of himself a little cloud above it, and the clouds raining, and it’s sunshine everywhere else. That’s Jacob’s life.
“Few and evil have have been my days.” Jacob seemed to face one sorrow after another. And while I think there’s an exaggeration going on here, and while I think you’ve got a man who’s lost certain faith and certain perspective, we must admit from the biblical record that Jacob did have his fair share of sorrow. Much of it his own making, some of it came at the hands of others. Let me just replay his life a little bit. After deceiving his father Isaac, and robbing his brother Esau, Jacob had to flee for his life, never to see his mother again. For 20 years he was cheated by his employer Uncle Laban, who swapped his bride on the wedding day. And then he was made to work for more years for the right to marry the right one. And he decreased his wages 10 times in the process.
Eventually he does risk revenge or reconciliation with a rather angry brother. We know that encounter with the Angel of the Lord, or an angelic being that leaves him permanently maimed, and he limps the rest of his life due to this wrestling match. We know from the mischief of Joseph’s brothers in Genesis, I think 38, that Jacob and his sons and his livelihood was at stake in the possibility of a reprisal attacked by the Canaanites, after his sons had tricked and slew the Shechemites. And then came the body blow, the below-the-belt blow of losing his wife Rachel, his favorite wife. And to crown it all, he loses Joseph. And in the midst of this kind of cat and mouse situation here, he thinks for a moment he’s potentially going to lose Benjamin.
Few don’t know how he gets that saying he lived 140 years. But given the situation the book of Genesis with the decreasing years, he admits, “I’m not living as long as my father,” and we’re certainly not living as long as him. But from his perspective, his years of being few and full of trouble. You remember that phrase that Paul talks about how the Lord saved Epaphroditus? And then Paul was thankful because it would’ve just been one more sorrow on top of another sorrow, sorrow upon sorrow. It’s almost a picture of wave upon wave of trial and trouble. The unending incoming tide of life’s challenges. And that’s kind of where Jacob was somewhat hollowed out.
Life had dismantled this man’s heart bit by bit, piece by piece, until he was a shadow of his former self. And I think you get this here, “My days are few, my years are evil. I had not thought to see.” I think you see the shadow of despair. He kind of lives amidst the shadows of what might have been. I think it’s just good to grasp that, and get a hold of that, and realize that life can sometimes be like that. The sun can disappear and the clouds can gather. Paul experienced that in a very physical way, didn’t he? In Acts chapter 27, verse 20, he’s on his way to Rome. The vessel he’s on gets caught in the storm. He says, “There wasn’t a star, there was no sun. All hope that we should be see if the live was gone.” Hopelessness amidst the waves and the storms of life.
While Paul lived physically under a leaden sky, Jacob lived emotionally and spiritually under a leaden sky for most of his life. I like the story related to the Peanuts cartoon, where Snoopy is sitting on his doghouse, he’s crouched over his typewriter, and he’s beginning another novel. And he’s beginning it with these words. “It was a dark and stormy night.” And if you know anything about Snoopy, he begins all his novels with those words. And Lucy comes bursting in and calls him a stupid dog. Says, “You don’t begin a story with those words. You begin a story with, “Once upon a time.” And so Snoopy gets back to the typewriter and he begins his new novel, “Once Upon a Time, and it was a dark and stormy night.” He can’t get away from that thought.
And that’s where Jacob was, like he never got beyond it was a dark and stormy night. I never thought I was going to see what my eyes led hold of today, or a few years back. There’s a distance between that initial encounter. Now, before we get to the sunshine of hope, because the clouds break, and the sunshine comes streaming in God’s good providence. I think you and I want to acknowledge something here. It often gets worse before it gets better. I had not thought to see. In fact, when the brothers go back, I think it’s in Genesis 42, and they talk about how they need to take Benjamin with them. What does Jacob say? “All these things are against me. Okay, it’s a dark and stormy night again. All these things are against me.” Now, from where he was, you got to give him a bit of a break.
But actually, he’s going to find out very shortly. And within years he’s going to see in fact, all these things were what? Working together for good. And you know, it’s hard to grasp that sometimes in the darkness. It’s hard to keep a hold of that when it’s sorrow upon sorrow, and it’s another dark and stormy night in your house, or my house, or whatever situation we might find ourselves in. But the night is darkest before the dawn. And you and I need to lay hold of that reality. That’s true physically. It often gets worse before it gets better. It’s often the darkest before the dawn. That’s true physically. Do you know what time of the night most break-ins take place? About 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, because that’s when the night is darkest, just bumping up against the dawn.
Ask any police department. The one I worked in, we were aware of that fact. That’s true physically, we know it’s true prophetically. There will be great tribulation like this world has never experienced before the days bring, and the dawning and the bright morning star comes back again. And every wrong will be made right, and justice will reign. And you and I need to remind ourselves that it can be true personally. These may be the worst months and years in your life, dark and stormy nights, and you might even say with Jacob, “All these things are against me.” That’s the voice of despair, that’s bordering on unbelief. When we should move towards taking into consideration the person of God, the nature of his word, the victory of Jesus Christ, the mystery of his providence.
That should move us more towards, “I believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Therefore, I will wait and be of good courage. Because I need to remind myself that the lowest point in the tide is often the turning of the tide. The darkest point in the night bumps up against the dawn.” And Jacob was up against some of the best years of his life, just over the brow of the hell and just around the corner. He was about to enjoy 17 years in Joseph’s company in the land of Goshen. Read about it in chapter 47 verse 28, “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years.” I never thought to see? What an understatement. You never thought to see? You’re going to enjoy Joseph for 17 years. And you’re going to see not only him, but his children, your grandchildren. And Joseph can’t believe it.
He still can’t get over it, because he’s dying here in Genesis 48, and he says, “I never thought to see you or the children.” Now, that happened 17 years earlier, but he hasn’t got over it. And he wants to remind us not to give up, not to despair, to hope against hope. Isn’t that a phrase that Paul uses in Hebrews chapter 14, or Romans 4 in verse 17? Describing Abraham’s faith in the possible slaying of his son, and Isaac. And how he hopes against hope, and he believes that God can bring his son back from the dead. In fact, commenting in that verse, John Piper said this, “God’s Godness creates a future where there is none. Out of nothing He brings something.” It’s a great statement. It’s worth pondering at Hebrews 11:1, what is faith? It’s the evidence of things not yet seen.
I had not thought to see. Could that be telling us because his faith was weak? Very possibly. Because faith believes in that which is not yet seen, given the person of God, and the promises of God, and the providence of God. It’s always too soon to quit, always too early to cry uncle, always too premature to throw in the towel. 1952 young Florence Chadwick steps into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of the mainland of California. She’s already swam back and front the English channel. The weather’s foggy, the waters are chilly. She’s accompanied by a little flotilla of boats. She’s been swimming for 15 hours, but she’s exhausted, she’s cold, and she has to be taken out of the water.
Her mother and others in the boats alongside her encourage her to keep going. But physically and emotionally she’s spent, she stopped swimming and they pull her out. And it’s only when she gets into the boat, does she realize when the fog clears a little, they were about a half a mile from the shore. In fact, the next day at a news conference she says this, “All I could see was the fog. I think if I could have seen the shore, I would’ve made it.” We’ve got to make God our horizon. We’ve got to make his promises our horizon. We’ve got to believe in the mystery of his providence and hope for a better day. And when things seem to be working against us, we’ve got to believe they’re actually working for us. And the darkness may just be the precursor to the dawn.
And shadows of despair can give way to the sunshine of hope, because that’s exactly what happens here, right? Jacob tells us here in this testimony in Genesis chapter 48 in verse 11, and Israel says to Joseph, “I have not thought to see your face, but I have lived to see it. And the shadows of despair have given way to the sunshine of hope. The overcast sky has given way to a break in the clouds and the sunshine has come streaming through. You couldn’t pour the emotion of that reunion into a handful of words, right? The heartache of the past 24 years was carried away in a stream of joyous tears. Go back to chapter 46 in verse 28, and you read about the reunion.
Then he sent Judah before him, the Joseph to point out before him the way to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen. So Jacob made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. And he presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. They just hung on to each other in a flood of tears. In fact, listen to what Jacob says here as he described Israel, and Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die. Since I have seen your face, because you’re still alive.” And you know what? If the curtains closed here and the lights dimmed and we all left the movie theater, still would be a good story. You know, I’ve seen you Jacob, Joseph, I’m happy now I can die. But the text tells us, “What’s all this talk of dying, Jacob?”
There’s 17 years still to live. You’re going to enjoy Joseph, you’re going to see your grandchildren. You’re going to live in one of the most beautiful spots in Egypt, and it’s all going to be an expenses-paid trip. It’s going to be on the government’s tab. How good’s that? It’s a powerful story. Jacob enters into 17 healthy and happy years. Two things come out of it quickly as we look at the sunshine of hope. The territory he received and the thanks he rendered, the territory he received and the thanks he rendered. Look at chapter 47 in verse 11. “And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them possession in the land of Egypt in the best… Not great, in the best. “It’s too soon to quit. I didn’t think I’d ever see you.” Now he sees him and he gets the best piece of real estate in Egypt.
Maybe we don’t believe enough and hope enough. Because God can sometimes exceed our dreams, and our best thoughts, and our stumbling, mumbling prayers. He does exceedingly abundantly, in the best law of the land, and the land of Ramesses as Pharaoh had commanded. We read in chapter 47 verse 27, “So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had possession there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years. I’m ready to die.” Hold on a minute, Jacob, now you’re not ready to die. You have a lot of living to do, a lot of things you’re still going to accomplish, beautiful things you’re going to encounter, great experiences you’re going to go through. Stop all this talk of dying, the best as yet to come.
I’m telling you, I think apart from the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I can’t think of a more dramatic story in the Bible about lost hope and regained hope. I really can’t. And then nothing to me exemplifies that thought that the best is yet to come when everything seems to be shot. I had not thought to see. Now I see I can die. No, you’re going to live for 17 years in the best of the land. This territory was the land of Goshen, situated on the Eastern part of the Nile Delta, fertile land, prime real estate. God was good in more ways than one. In fact, let me tell you about this land, just in case you just jump over that reality. This was strategic, because Israel and his sons would grow here.
And we know from the Book of Exodus, they grow to such a size that a Pharaoh to follow sees them as a national security threat. And they get down there, right? Just 70 or so of them, and God secludes them and sequesters them. He provides isolation that allows the nation to develop free from harm. The new environment releases them from the pollution of the Canaanite culture. They’re in a place where they can pursue their occupation of shepherding. They’re in the fringes of Egypt. And so even there, they’re protected from the idolatry of its people and its 2000 deities. And they’re living on the border, which would make an easier exodus for centuries later. Isn’t God good?
He’s not only compensating for the past, he’s preparing them for the future. That’s an amazing thing, the providence of God. Simultaneously he not only compensates the past, he prepares for the future. God is always working on multiple levels. God is 3, 4, 5, 50 steps ahead of you and me. And have we got belief enough to see the goodness of the Lord yet in the land of the living? From our side, all we see is the tangled threads and twisted threads that make up our lives. And we forget on the other side, God sees this beautiful pattern coming together in his providence. And what’s lacking in meaning to us is very meaningful to God. What doesn’t make sense to us doesn’t mean it’s senseless.
That’s where Joseph or Jacob was right? All this is against me. You’re not taking Benjamin. I’ve lost Joseph. There’s only so much I can take. If I lose him I’ve nothing more to live for, and on and on me go. His years are a few, and his years were full of trouble. And a whole lot of it didn’t make sense. It certainly made sense to God. Like the story of the young college student who comments to the great theologian and preacher Spurgeon, “I’m having a hard time understanding why bad things happen to people. It doesn’t seem fair.” Spurgeon replies, “Young man, give God credit for knowing some things you don’t.” I think we see this here. I know the plans I have for you, Jeremiah 29:11, “Plans for your welfare, not your calamity.”
Now, when you’re in calamity, it’s hard to hold onto that, and believe that even the calamity can be part of a plan for welfare. Joseph had to learn that, “Hey guys, God sent me ahead of you to provide and protect the line of Abraham through Isaac and I, through our father Jacob.” That’s the territory he receives. Finally, the thanks He renders, the thanks he renders, it’s in this passage here, Genesis 48 verse 11. This is kind of a memoir to God’s mercy. He’s kissed the boys, embraced them. Envision the scene. The old man, he’s feeble, his eyes are dim. He’s got the boys around the bed, he’s hugging them. He looks up at Joseph even though he can hardly see him and says, “Joseph, I never thought, never thought in my wildest dreams to see you and the boys.”
And it’s a testimony to God’s goodness and mercy in his life, that God has given him exceedingly, abundantly above all that he could ask or think. And 17 years later he’s still talking about it, and how true that is. We need to remind ourselves that often God is so willing to give us more than we’re willing to believe him for. And then as good as he gives us, even that which we haven’t prayed enough for, or believed enough for. It’s not like Jacob gets this because, “Hey Jacob, you know, you’re a man of faith. Here you go.” Even in his failure, God is still good. Even in his lack of perspective and faith, God is still abundantly good. God is so often willing to give us exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.
In fact, in his book on Joseph, Leslie Flynn, Baptist pastor in New York, gives some great examples about this. Just sit back and take this in. This is good stuff. Jacob wants to get this out before he’s gone. I never thought to see. But I did see. God is good. Moses’ mother fearing the life of her baby, hid him in an ark of bulrushes, right? But not only was his life spared, but he was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter into the royal family. And more than that, Moses’ mother was paid wages to come in and look after him. I think that’s exceedingly abundantly above all that she could ask or think. Hannah wanted a son so badly, and for a while that seemed her prayer would never be answered. But God give her not only one son who became a great prophet and priest in Israel, Samuel anointing, the greatest of all kings, David, but four sons and two daughters.
Read the biblical record in first Samuel. Naomi lost her husband and sons. With bitterness she returns to Bethlehem thinking she’ll never have any more descendants. Then through a loyal daughter-in-law, Ruth, who marries a rat out of Boaz, Naomi finds herself in the lineage of the Messiah, Jesus Christ himself. Read about it in Matthew’s chronology. The dying thief asks merely to be remembered by Jesus at some future time, when he will come into his kingdom. And Jesus replies “Today, paradise.” The prodigal intends to ask to be only hired as a servant, but is rejoicing. Father freely forgives him all and puts on him the best robe, a ring, shoes, he kills the father the calf, and he has the party that everybody talks about for years to come.
God does exceedingly, abundantly have of all that we can ask, think, imagine, and sometimes even bring ourselves to believe. There’s always hope. We’ve been born again under a living hope. The resurrection’s a game changer. Our lives are horizoned by the hope that comes out of an empty grave and the promises of God’s word, and the mystery of God’s providence, and the dependability of God’s character. Jacob didn’t believe to see, because Jacob didn’t allow God’s word to set the boundaries of his thinking. When I talk about God’s word, the dream, the revelation that came to Joseph and he shared it with his father, and nobody took it seriously. But that dream, that promise, that possibility, never defined their thinking, and reoriented their thinking and corralled their perspectives.
And he often let the circumstances define his anticipation of God’s goodness. “Oh, all this was against me.” How quickly he falls into self-pity, an unbelief and despair. When if he had to let the word of God define the boundaries of his thinking, he would’ve anticipated God’s goodness even more. Jacob found this to be true, that which David expresses here, “Believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Now, I want to encourage you USC fans tonight. It’s been a tough season. I want to raise your hopes. Anybody remember 1974, the Notre Dame game? Let me tell you what it was all about. By half time Notre Dame was trouncing USC. The score was 24 to zip. And by half time thousands of fans were exiting the stadium. I assume the Coliseum.
The second half begins with the USC tailback, Anthony Davis, returning the kick off for 102 yard touchdown. And it never stopped. Score after score after score without reply, until when the final whistle was blown, 55 to 24 in favor of USC. One of the greatest comebacks in college football history. And you can bet your life that those who left at half time were kicking themselves. But to some degree who blames them? I think I’d have probably left at half time. I wouldn’t have even been there. But here’s the deal, here’s the point. What have you and I walked out on before all that we could have done, we did? We’ve walked out on promises that God is still willing to fulfill. Prayers, we’ve stopped praying. He’s willing still to hear, people he’s willing to change, things he’s willing to do.
Because we are not willing to believe we can yet see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. It’s only half time, God’s still got a game plan. God’s still got ways to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. And Jacob wants to challenge us to that end. Will you and I listen to the voices of despair in our lives? I had not thought to see, or will we, standing over an empty grave, looking up to an occupied throne, listening to the encouragement of the Holy Spirit through the word, being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, including Abraham, who hoped against hope? Will we believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living? There is always hope. Because we have been born again unto a living hope, and we have faith in the God of hope who fills us with joy and peace. Amen.
Amen.
Let’s pray. Lord, how quickly and how easily we throw in the towel, and we leave the stadium, and we draw a line under this and say it’s over. We stop praying, we stop hoping, we stop believing. We can become cynical. And when somebody asks us how we’re doing, how quickly we recite like Jacob, “Well, our years are few and our lives are full of trouble. All these things are against us.” And yet Lord dying in Egypt, you were working your plan beyond the line of physical sight. Lord help us indeed not to walk by sight, but to walk by faith. Help us to believe to yet see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Help us to wait and be of good courage. Some of us are in tremendous straits at the moment financially. Challenges at home, problems we’d like to see solved, people we’d like to see transformed, needs we would like to see met.
Well, God, help us to have hope tonight. God, help us and indeed in the words of Fanny Crosby, which was the motto often of her life, “Trust the Lord and take heart.” Lord, help us to do that tonight. Help us to trust you, your person, your promises, your providence. Help us to trust the Lord. And help us in the light of that to take heart. You will have the last word. All things will yet work together for good. Lord, what an encouragement tonight. Thank you for encouraging our hearts. What a story of the encounter between Jacob and Joseph. These things we ask and pray in his name. Amen.