From the book Grace Grows Best In Winter by Margaret Clarkson.
“The sovereignty of God is one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. The circumstances surrounding our lives are no accident; they may be the work of evil, but that evil is firmly held in the mighty hand of our sovereign God.”
Feel free to ask a question or make a comment.
Thanks so much to Pastors Jeff and Ezra for your time, effort and insite in this Joseph sermon series. I have learned from it a lot. i have always enjoyed the story of Joseph, and i marvel at the way he came through with good attitude instead of revenge and bitterness. i have a question, and to be honest, i realize it may not be a fair question for you, as some might see it as trying to know what history might have been like had someone done something else other than what really happened, kind of like speculating. But i have a reason to ask it, as the answer would have application for me.
i realize Judah and his brothers are responsible for their own behavior (speaking of when they sold their brother). i wonder if Jacob ever realized the dysfunction he unleashed upon his family with his blatant favortism on Joseph, and then on Benjamin. I would naturally conclude that Jacob, also, is responsible for his behavior as well. i also realize that God worked with all of this for His purpose and plan. i want to be like Joseph when ‘life’ happens to me. My question, however ‘after the fact’ that it is, is this: What could Judah and his brothers have done, way back when Joseph was young, having his dreams, being given a special coat, and being singled out as the favorite by their dad, what could the other 10 brothers have done so as not to become bitter or revengeful at Joseph? What alternate route could they have taken in their thinking and behavior in order to come out shining like we all see Joseph do?
In some ways, it seems hard to blame the brothers for their attitude, because of the favortism their father had in the family. i mean, their mother, Leah, wasn’t loved, the concubines were ‘used’ to ‘enlarge’ the family (doesn’t seem like much love there), and there is the obvious show of affection for Rachel and her boys when they finally come along. And to some extent, it seems hard to blame Jacob. He only wanted Rachel right from the start, and it was his father-in-law that rooked him into all this with his deceptive deed. And if you look at Rebekah, Laban’s sister, she conived the whole scene with Isaac and Jacob, leaving Esau out in the cold. it seems that everyone is a victim of everyone else, and Joseph seems the one who stepped out of the whole ‘victim’ scenario. And i guess i want to know what could a person like Judah, or his brothers, have done to have stepped out of it all before they dragged themselves and their dad through all that heartache? (As an aside, not only did the 10 brothers not like Joseph in the beginning, it doesn’t seem to me they loved their father, Jacob, very much either, as they were willing to let him believe this incredible lie they conjured up about Joseph’s whereabouts.)
Essentially, i guess my question is this, How does a person choose love and not bitterness in the face of difficulty? i heard the sermon on God’s sovereinty and i guess i’m wondering the practical ‘what does this look like’ in a Christian’s life?
Thanks for your time, Dawnette
So basically what im asking , is that when a little girl is sold into a sex den in thailand. There she is beaten and raped for the next 10 years of her life. This act , then is fair and just , and purposeful for divine goodness? I have a really hard time with this. I dont think i fully understand will and sovereignty with respect to the same issue. Sure god will take that evil and somehow make a rose from it , but he also permitted (arguably created and caused) the very same evil….. they did it , but got ordained it…. before the beginning of time , right? So then , if that is true , i come to the same end….. it must be a fair and just act. ????? im lost here man .
ok. 2 things , ive had some time to think as to how to clarify my questions better. second is i was not expecting what i wrote to get posted…. its a nice change 
Ya i get that i wear a coat because im cold. Here is my contentions. To have the authority to permit evil , then do do so means a few things. FIrstly it means that this ‘evil’ is being done to something that does not deserve ‘good’. This to me seems the only way a judge can remain just and permit such haenous acts. You see , i went through what i did as a child , and i had problems with it because i believed i somehow was inherently deservant of good. So ..... am i right to think some of these horrible things that happened to me were just and fair…. that as a young child i deserved no better? You see , its not evil to ordain it if that which is being harmed is not deserving of good , from the perspective of the judge.(stretch i know). So when you think about god creating something without its consent into an awful life , to then not save it and damn it for all eternity to hell…. this must be just for god to be good. For it to be just it must be fair and deserved….. what other conclusion can i come to? Am i out in left field on this one? This makes my head spin….. i feel like a calculator , and you are trying to divide something by 0. Its like i dont have the circutry to compute. Help!
this should better articulate my question.
Hi All
I’m away for a bit but thought I should quickly answer. I understand the nature of the sermon and the need to respond to some things, but I think it best to suggest a couple of resources that will provide answers to a lot of questions and objections. Here are a couple of them…
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, chapter 40 on the nature of God’s Providence
Bruce Ware, God’s Greater Glory
J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
Terrance Tiessen, Providence and Prayer
There are more, but these three are particularly helpful.
These can be found on Amazon.
The Grudem book is big, but is worth having for more than just this issue.
Jeff
im reading the grudem book right now. it is so helpful. but Gods providence is ch16. i have the book open to it right now, sorry Jeff. and that chapter was awesome, a great tool.
Thankyou Jeff for your passion to preach Gods word and challenge us to apply it and live like we serve a BIG God. I want to encourage you to keep preaching it with the same passion and enthusiasm you have shown. Our daughter also appreciates as we do the historical background you bring into your messages which enlightens us so well to the context. I can’t help wonder after listening to this message “God does what He wants….. if u have heard or seen the “Indescribable” dvd. You mentioned in this message about “our molecules being actively held together by Jesus. There is actually a set of 4 dvd’s the second one being title “How great is our God”, speaker Louie Giglio, shows the “laminin molecule”. I would like to recommend this dvd series to you and the church library.
Thankyou for allowing God to use you to challenge us every week.
Jocelyn (pete/n family)
i have seen the laminin molecule. it was very cool. it can be seen on youtube as well. but i agree with the church getting more resources like that.
Yes Adam, it can be seen on u tube but only a portion,,,the dvd set has two powerful testimonies that give you the whole picture,,,,a must see for everyone!
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#1 from shaun on March 02, 2010
ps I do not think God is evil , i believe instead that there is something i am missing , a flaw in my own reasoning. I do not always stay there .... i bounce between believing this what i spoke of , to questioning god , to then going back to this , to questionin god and so on. NEver fully believing he is evil….. for 2 reasons only.
FIrst is ive gotten to know him in a teency weency , inreadibly minute fraction , very very small way. And he has seemed nothing other than perfectly loving.
Second. I have a conception of evil. The very fact i have a conception of evil is evidence that he is good.
That being said i didnt write to request an answer about those things (u know god creating and damning without the consent of those he damns as to whether or not they wanted to exist at all). INstead about the things that have happenedt to me and the stance that i have come to… it being just and all. This can be at times , such a hard pill to swallow…... and it doesnt at all help the pain. I just wanna know if there is something wrong with my beliefs (well i know there is , i just want to know where)