Genesis 50: 15-21

^{Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.}

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! I'd like to share with you this morning one of the most beautiful concepts in the entire Bible. It's one of the most beautiful concepts in the Old Testament. And it is the crowning moment in the last chapter in the book of Genesis.

Now, remember the book of Genesis begins with creation and it ends with the story of Joseph. How many of you have heard of the story of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"? I'll bet you have. This is that story. And the last chapter, chapter 50, of Genesis ends with this absolutely remarkable concept which I'd like for us to consider today.

Here's what happened: Joseph, son of Jacob and brother of many brothers, is the victim of something terrible. You see, Joseph's brothers are very jealous of him because they think that their father favors him high above them.  One of the signs of that supposed favoritism is the coat of many colors that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. The brothers are very jealous. They stage a situation where Joseph is thrown into a well. Eventually he is sold into slavery in Egypt , and the brothers tell their father that Joseph is dead. Nasty business, to be sure.

Well, perhaps you know what happens in the story. Joseph rises up through the ranks, becomes a leader in Egypt , and finally he is a very strong and powerful leader, especially during the time of a famine. Now, Joseph's brothers have to come to Joseph for mercy in the end. Did you hear what happened in the Bible story? They come to Joseph and say, "Our father has died, but he pleaded with you for mercy on us. Won't you have mercy on us? Make us your slaves, Joseph, but just help us survive."

Now here comes the wonderful part. Here is the Spirit-inspired part. Joseph says, "Am I God? Shall I make my brothers slaves? No. You, my brothers, meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. I will take care of you and your little ones. Come, live in my house."

Someone may have meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. And friends, that's the kernel of truth I want to invite you to take home with you today. Turn your setbacks into comebacks. Our God is a God of comebacks. He wants us to come up again from the setback times.

Do you have setbacks in your life? I wonder if you do. Take a message from this Bible verse, won't you? Someone may have meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

A wonderful black preacher put it this way: "A setback is a set-up for a comeback." Isn't that wonderful? I wish I had written that. A setback is simply a set-up for a comeback. So if you are facing a setback in your life today, take courage from this Bible verse. Someone may have meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

Let's look at how we can turn our setbacks into comebacks. First of all, lift up your eyes to the hills. I brought a pair of binoculars with me. If I just use them to look down at my hand, I can't see very much. But if I look out the window, I see the beauty of the outdoors. Lift up your vision. If you're facing a setback, and it feels kind of crushing, the first thing to do is to lift up your vision.

Do a little experiment with me. Find your pulse. Got it? That's a good sign! Put your hand in front of your face and blow a puff of air. You're breathing! Why am I doing this? Because, friend, no matter what setback you're facing, you're still alive. The greatest resource in your life is you. Wherever you go, you take you with you. You have potential. You are alive. Lift up your vision. That's the first thing you need to do, no matter what your setback is. When we have setbacks, we tend to stare straight down. But instead, I invite you to lift up your vision. The Psalm says, "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills." I want you to lift your vision from the ground to the sky. It's not the end of the world. There is hope for you.

Second, imagine a telescope. This stands for ‘look'. Look for the hidden treasure in the setback. Now, I know that some of you are going through setbacks that are tremendously difficult. You've been there; I've been there. But in the everyday setbacks we go through, look for the hidden treasure.

What do I mean by that? I know a person that expected to be chosen for an important job. He was in line for it; he deserved it; he should have gotten it. But guess what? He did not. It was a position that entailed some honor and entailed an enormous amount of time and responsibility. He did not get the position, and he was disappointed.

But do you know what happened? He got to spend time with his family, with his children, with his friends. And he later looked back on that time as one of the most golden times in his life. He eventually got a position of responsibility and honor, but he looked back at that time fondly, because there were treasures in that time for him. How about you? Are there hidden treasures in this seeming setback? Take a look at them; appreciate them. Keep an eye out for the treasures that may be hidden in the setback.

So, lift up your eyes. Know that it isn't the end of the world. And look for the hidden treasure, the hidden blessing.  In our scripture reading, Joseph tells his brothers that this thing, intended for evil, was turned into something good by God - and that many people who would have otherwise died in the famine were saved because of this circumstance. He was inviting them to look for the hidden blessings. I ask you - in the seeming setback you are facing - is there some hidden blessing?

    Next, the word is learn.  Is there something to be learned from the seeming setback?  If so, then it can never be a total loss.  Nothing is a total loss if we learn from it.  Once, in a church I served previously, we had a problem with the plumbing in a sink. One of the church trustees decided he wanted to try to fix it himself. He came in with his wrench and got down under the sink, and he started to turn the bolt, and – guess what? – it broke. And there was a messy situation.

Now, I tell you this was a wonderful man, a very bright guy, a Ph.D. who does top secret work for the American government. I will never forget what he said at that moment: "Oops, I made a mistake." Isn't that wonderful? I learned from that. This top-notch Ph.D., a biochemist, who was trying to do a good thing, said, "Oops, I made a mistake." Boy, I was encouraged by that. All of you Ph.D./ M.D. types can say, "I made a mistake." It's a beautiful thing.

It's not a total loss if we learn from it. Take a look at that setback. Have you learned something? If so, you've gained. It's not a total loss. Can I be confessional for a moment? Talk about learning from one's mistakes, I have plenty of them. October 14, 1994 , a Sunday afternoon, the first and the last time I will ever become angry at a choir. I was conducting a performance on a Sunday afternoon, and the performance had an intermission. The choir was tired. I was frustrated. I didn't think the performance was going the way it should. I said, "I know what I'll do. At intermission, I'll allow myself some upset, and I'll tell them. And they'll get better after the intermission." And I did.

Do you know what happened after the intermission? It went right downhill. They were crestfallen. I've never seen such a disappointed group. I gathered them together after that performance, dear friends, and I gave them a circle hug, and said, "Dear friends, I want you to hear me. From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I will never, ever, do that to you again. I promise. Because whatever was wrong in the first half of that show was the director's fault." And I have not done that again, and I will not.

But you know what? I learned. And they were gracious enough to forgive me. Things are not a total loss if you learn from them.

Lastly, leave room for God. What looks like a tremendous setback for you right now may not be a setback at all, in the great big picture of things. I'm not talking about your profound losses, but those things that look like setbacks. Maybe God has bigger plans for you. God's plans for us are so much bigger than anything we can plan for. Have you ever had a blessing in your life that you didn't account for? Have you ever had something really good happen to you that you never dreamed would have happened ten years ago? You know what it is. That's the way God works. Leave room for God.

Lift up your eyes. Look for the treasure. Learn. And leave room for God.

Closing story: Once there was a man who lived many years ago, and he had a dream. His dream was to become a sailor in the Navy of the King of England. He was so enraptured with this dream. He thought about it and he packed his trunk, and he was about to leave for his journey to enroll in the King's Navy. His plans got fouled up, and he was not able to become a sailor in the King's Navy, I'm sorry to tell you. Well, a little bit sorry, not very sorry. Because God had bigger plans in mind for this young man than to be a sailor in the Navy of the King of England. You will know when I tell you his name. His name was George Washington. And if you think about the Washington Monument , you'll know that sometimes God has bigger plans for us than we could ever dream of ourselves.

Leave room for God, because His plans for you are good. Because He loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen.