Exlperiencing God - Joseph living by faith 92

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him
Genesis

For the last twelve years, my wife and I have attended a seven day retreat at a Trappist Monastery in Charleston.  We have always been there at the same time of the year, late January early February.  During our time there each year, the daily prayer cycle at the monastic community has been the story of Joseph found in the last fifteen chapters of Genesis. 

The prayer cycle at this monastic community is broken down into six intervals during the course of each day. Over the seven day period, the story of Joseph is covered in its entirety in this beautiful liturgical setting.  As a result, it takes on a significant meaning.  Before each prayer interval, you look forward to hearing the continuation of this suspenseful story picked up easily from the previous session. 

So you discover in the person of Joseph and his interaction with his ten brothers and father a depth of character that is not so evident in a quick reading of the scripture.  Joseph, as you know, experienced many trials and crises during the course of his life.  He was the favorite son of Jacob, and received special blessings as a result, but this gave rise to jealousy on the part of his brothers.  He was sold into slavery by his brothers as a result of this jealousy.  Joseph was falsely accused of making advances on the wife of one of Pharaol's officials.  As a result,  he was thrown into an Egyptian jail for several years.  Yet with each crisis that he experienced, he rose to greater prominence, and all of this can be attributed to one thing: Joseph was a man of deep abiding faith in God, a man who could trust God as working through the events of his life.  Joseph was a man who was convicted by the assurance that God had an ultimate plan for his life, even though he was not able to understand it at the time.  He lived in trust and hope that God's plan would be fulfilled.

Often times, I've found in the course of my own life, when difficulties come, or when I'm experiencing what I call a crisis of change, I can get caught up in that moment.  Everything looks grim and hopeless because I can become consumed by the difficulty that is being experienced.  It's perhaps like being caught up in a fifteen second stretch of a two hour movie, and then evaluating all of life's circumstances on this very short time duration. 

The way of out the dilemma of what may seem like crushing hopelessness can be found in the story of Joseph.  Stand back a bit from the difficulty and take a look at the entire picture.  What is it that I have to learn from this difficulty?  What opportunity or plan does God have in mind for me as I face this crisis?  Maintain a deep and abiding trust in God, a trust that, even though currently unseen, everything will work out for the good, not only for myself but for those I encounter and serve.

After fifteen years, from the time of being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph found himself in a place where he was able to save his family from starvation and be reconciled with them.  Faith is the only path that can lead to this moment.

The call of the disciple is not a call to entitlements, positions of importance or an escape from difficulties.  It is a call to faith.  The Kingdom of God is at hand.  We only need to open our eyes to faith to see it.