God uses our past experiences as preparation for His future plans...

This week, we are looking at a story from the life of Joseph from a section of the very first letter that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the book of Genesis. Yesterday, we saw the Lord use Joseph to reveal what the future held for Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt. Joseph explained to Pharaoh that after seven years of amazing prosperity, there would be seven years of famine that will be so severe that everyone would forget how great the previous seven years were. However, instead of stopping there, Joseph is not done talking, as Moses reveals for us beginning in Genesis 41:33:

  "Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. "Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. "Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh's authority, and let them guard it. "Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine."

After explaining Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph decides to give Pharaoh some advice. Joseph’s advice, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Pharaoh, I recommend that you look for an intelligent man who has demonstrated the skills in his life to produce positive results and I would put him in charge of collecting 20% of all the food that is produced during the next seven years. This man would also be responsible to make sure that this food is properly stored and protected from those who would want to steal the food when the drought and famine comes. By following my recommendation, the nation will not be ruined by the famine, but instead would end up prospering in the midst of the famine”.

Can you imagine the guts that Joseph would have had to have to make such a recommendation to Pharaoh, the most powerful man on the planet? I mean Joseph is a foreigner who is in prison for attempting to rape the head of the secret services wife. He has no position or power, he has no influence. What would make him think that Pharaoh would take his advice? We see how Pharaoh responded to Joseph’s recommendation in verse 37:

 Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. "You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you." Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh responded to Joseph’s recommendation by basically saying “You know what Joseph, that sounds like a good idea and I think you are just the right man for the job. I mean where else are we going to find a man like you who has the Spirit of God with him like you do? Since God is obviously with you and has declared what is going to happen to you and what we should do, then you are the man for the job.”

You see, the Lord’s activity was evident in Joseph’s life. Once again, Joseph was the vehicle that God was using to reveal himself to others. And Joseph made sure to point people to God’s activity instead of taking credit for God’s activity in his life.

And as a result of the evidence of the Lord’s activity in his life, Pharaoh promoted Joseph to the position of Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph was second in command in the nation. Joseph was given Pharaoh’s signet ring, which gave him financial authority over the nation. Joseph was given the second chariot, which was the equivalent of Air Force Two. And everyone was to pay attention and make way for Joseph; no one could do anything in the nation without Joseph’s permission.

You see, Joseph was given the position of Prime Minister because Joseph had demonstrated that he was prepared for the position. And now, just as Joseph had been put in charge of Potiphar’s house and was the head of the secret services right hand man; just as Joseph had been put in charge of the prison and had become the warden’s right hand man; Joseph was now placed in charge of the nation of Egypt and was Pharaoh’s right hand man. And to make sure that Joseph would be respected by the nation of Egypt, Joseph was given a new name and an Egyptian wife so that he would be accepted as being an insider who was part of Egyptian culture. Moses then reveals for us how Joseph responded to his new position in versed 46:

 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly. So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

After spending thirteen years in slavery; after spending thirteen years on a rollercoaster of circumstances that went up and down; after recognizing that doing the right thing in God’s sight does not always result in the right result in the sight of others; after recognizing that our investment in others does not always result in a return on our investment, Joseph was now in a position to powerfully impact the lives of a nation.

Joseph, as he had repeatedly demonstrated during his thirteen years in Egypt was successful and prosperous as a result of his integrity and trustworthiness. But not only was Joseph prospering in his role as Prime Minister of Egypt; Joseph was also prospering as a husband and father, as we see in verse 50:

 Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." He named the second Ephraim, "For," he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

Moses tells us that Joseph’s marriage to Potiphera resulted in the birth of two sons. And here we see Joseph respond to Lord’s presence and activity in his life throughout the past thirteen years by honoring Him in the naming of his sons. Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh, which means one who causes to forget. Joseph then had a second son, whom he named Ephraim, which means fruitful. Instead of focusing on his past circumstances, Joseph’s focus is on the God who preserved and provided for him in the midst of those circumstances. Moses then concludes this section of the book of Genesis by giving us a glimpse into the beginning of a devastating drought and famine in verse 53:

 When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do." When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

Moses reveals for us the reality that after seven years of amazing prosperity, the drought and subsequent famine arrived, just as Joseph had declared it would. However, this famine was not simply in Egypt; this famine impacted the entire Middle East. Yet, while the nations around Egypt suffered, the nation of Egypt still had food. Eventually the effects of the famine began to impact the nation of Egypt as well.

However, as the nation came to Pharaoh to seek food, Pharaoh simply directed them to his right hand man Joseph, who was the man with the plan. And just as Joseph had planned, as the severe famine began to weigh heavily on the world, Joseph opened the storehouses of grain to sell to the people. Joseph’s planning and preparation resulted in the nations coming with money to buy the food that was only found in Egypt, which made Egypt the wealthiest nation and the unquestioned power in the world.

And it is here that we see God reveal for us a timeless truth that can powerfully impact our perspective and our relationship with God. And that timeless truth is this: God uses our past experiences as preparation for His future plans. Just as it was with Joseph, just as it has been for humanity throughout history, God uses our past experiences as preparation for His future plans.

You see, Joseph’s thirteen years of slavery were experiences that God used in preparation for His future plans with Joseph. God used Joseph’s experiences as Potiphar’s personal assistant to develop the character and convictions that were necessary to be used by God as Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph’s experiences helped him to do the right thing, even when it wasn’t the easy or popular thing to do. Joseph’s experiences helped him learn that doing the right thing in God’s sight does not always result in the right result in the sight of others.

God used Joseph’s experiences as the prison warden’s chief trustee to develop the integrity and the proper motives that were necessary to be used by God as Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph’s experiences helped him to learn that our investment in others does not always result in a return on our investment.

And in the same way today, our past experiences are powerful tools that God uses to shape within us the right character, the right convictions, and the right motives that prepare us for the future plans that He has for us.

So here is a question to consider: How does God want to use your past experiences for His future plans? How do your past experiences, both good and bad, prepare you for what God wants to do in you and through you for the future?