Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Like no matter what you do, nothing works out? Even when it finally looks like things are turning around—when you think, “Okay, I can see God’s plan coming together”—suddenly it all falls apart again. Moments like that expose something we don’t like to admit; we carry certain earthly expectations of what God should do in response to our faithfulness. We’d never say them out loud, but when God’s plan doesn’t line up with our sense of logic or fairness, frustration rises quickly. I’ll be honest—I don’t like this sermon. I don’t like this passage. I don’t like what God allows to happen to Joseph. When I read it, I get angry at the people who betray him… and I feel a little frustrated with God too. Because from where we sit, Joseph seems to have every right to feel abandoned. Every right to question. Every right to wonder why obedience keeps leading him deeper into suffering. Today we’re looking at a moment in Joseph’s life where, from a human perspective, he had every reason to be frustrated with God. And yet, it’s in this very place—where expectations collapse and fairness disappears—that God is doing some of His most important work.
