Following Jesus As He Takes Detours

This week we conclude our sermon series on the life of Joseph, the Old Testament patriarch whose sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph lived a life filled with faith in God. Despite his faith (or, perhaps because of it) he was rejected by his family, kidnapped, sold into slavery far from home, falsely accused and thrown into prison. Despite his circumstances, God blessed Joseph so that he rose to be second in command in the Egyptian empire, was fully reconciled with his messed-up family and provided refuge for them during a world-wide famine.

Coming to a strange land, Joseph’s family probably didn’t want to intermingle too much with the pagan Egyptians. That was OK, since the Egyptians looked down on them as low-class shepherds. Despite that, Joseph’s entire family was invited to live in Goshen, in what amounts to the “River Oaks” of the country. In Egyptian eyes, this would be similar to the Beverly Hillbillies arriving in Hollywood!

Looking at Joseph as a teen-ager, NO ONE would have predicted the journey God was placing before him. God seems to delight in surprising us; He often works in unexpected ways, chooses different people than we would to accomplish His plans, and astonishes us with twists and turns that seem to be detours, but turn out to be the most direct path.

In short, we can’t afford to get comfortable or complacent when we follow Jesus’ path!

This Sunday at Trinity Downtown, we’re continuing our reflection how Joseph’s story reminds us that God is doing His quiet work in our lives all the time; it’s just sometimes hard to detect. So, if you’re going through a hard time, take heart. You can trust that God is patiently working to (re)build relationships with Himself and your family. You can count on it.