Pain Has an Assignment

ANCHOR SCRIPTURE
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (See Genesis 50:20, NLT)

Introduction: The Person Who Understands

When trouble comes our way, it is often helpful to speak to someone who has walked the same road. When that person says, “I know,” we can believe them because their words carry the weight of experience. Their scars tell a story.

God often prepares people to help others through their own experiences. Perhaps you are going through a difficult chapter of your life that you have never shared with anyone.

Today, I would like us to follow Joseph through three places: the pit, the prison, and the palace.

The Scripture encourages us to follow the example of those who, through faith and patience, inherit God’s promises. (See Hebrews 6:12, NLT)

As we journey through Joseph’s story, we will consider four important questions:

1. What do we do when people fail us?
2. How do we wait well when God’s promises seem delayed?
3. Does forgiving mean pretending?
4. What is our pain for?

The Pit: When People Fail Us

Joseph’s brothers threw him into a dry well and then sold him (See Genesis 37:23-28, NLT). The people who should have protected him hurt him. Some of you know that feeling.

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close. (See Psalm 27:10, 2 Samuel 9:1–13, Isaiah 53:3–5; 1 Peter 2:4, NLT)

How people treated you tells us about them. Your worth was settled by God before they ever met you.

The Prison: Is Waiting Wasted?

Joseph went from the pit to slavery to prison. Years passed, but God was with him there (See Genesis 39:21, NLT). Hidden years can be training years. The danger in the waiting is bitterness.

Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. (See Hebrews 12:15, 1 Samuel 16:11–13; 24:1–12, Exodus 2:11–22; 3:1–10, Ruth 1:19–21; 4:14–17, NLT)

Bitterness is like a weed on a farm. It starts small, then it spoils the whole harvest. Pull it out in three ways:

1. Tell God honestly how you feel. He can handle the truth.
2. Choose to forgive. Do it one decision at a time (See Ephesians 4:31-32, NLT).
3. Speak to someone you trust. Pain grows in secret and shrinks in company.

How Do We Wait Well?

Joseph did not sit in the prison and pity himself. The warden put him in charge of the other prisoners, because the LORD gave him success in everything he did (See Genesis 39:22-23, NLT). Four things marked his waiting.

1. He did his work well. He worked in a place he did not choose, and he stayed faithful even in small tasks. He did not wait for a better position (See Luke 16:10; Genesis 39:4-6, NLT). Work willingly, as though you were working for the Lord (See Colossians 3:23, NLT).
2. He used his gifts. Even in prison, Joseph used his God-given gift to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh’s officials (See Genesis 40:8-14, NLT).
3. He noticed people who were hurting. One morning he saw that two of the king’s officials looked troubled, and he asked them why (See Genesis 40:6-7, NLT). His own pain had not made him blind to theirs. Often the waiting room is where God teaches you to see others.
4. He stayed faithful when people forgot him. Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him, but the man forgot. Two more years passed (See Genesis 40:14, 23; 41:1, NLT).

The Palace: Is Forgiving Pretending?

Joseph rose from prison to rule Egypt. When his brothers came for food, he held all the power (See Genesis 42:6, NLT). Yet his forgiveness was real, not pretend. Look at three things.

1. Joseph never hid his pain. He turned away and wept when he overheard his brothers admit what they had done (See Genesis 42:21-24, NLT). Years later he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him (See Genesis 45:1-2, NLT).
2. Healing took years. He named his first son Manasseh, because God had made him forget his troubles. He named his second son Ephraim, because God had made him fruitful in the land of his suffering (See Genesis 41:51-52, NLT).
3. Forgiving and trusting are different. He tested his brothers before he trusted them again. Judah offered to stay as a slave so that Benjamin could go home, and only then did Joseph reveal himself (See Genesis 44:18-34, NLT). You can forgive at once. Trust comes back when a person shows they have changed.

If you are still hurting, you have not failed. God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds (See Psalm 147:3, NLT). Let Him take His time with you.

What Is Our Pain For?

When healing came, Joseph could see the bigger picture. He fed his brothers instead of taking revenge. He did not say what they did was good. He said God was bigger than the wrong (See Genesis 50:19-21, NLT).

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. (See 2 Corinthians 1:4, NLT)

The girl who dropped out of school may mentor other girls. The young man who struggled to find work may train others. The widow who was pushed out of her late husband’s house may stand beside the next one. When you catch yourself saying, “No one else should go through this,” listen. That may be your assignment.

Conclusion: Going Back

The Sankofa bird is an Akan symbol. It walks forward but looks back, with an egg in its beak. It is wise to go back and fetch what is useful.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (See Romans 8:28, NLT)

Pick up the lesson, the compassion and the testimony. Then walk forward. God has been working on your story all along.