Title: Hope in Despair
Contents Sunday Worship Sermon
hope in despair
(Genesis 37:5-11)
Despair is a test from the devil. No matter how loyal and hardworking people in the church are, when they fall into the test of despair, they lose their motivation. So I let go of all the hard work. Despair is a very scary thing. But the opposite, hope, gives us strength. Hope enables us to overcome all trials, overcome difficulties, and guide us on the road to victory. Our God visits us and renews our hope. He makes us hope and live in hope. I hope that you will realize this fact once again through the life of Joseph in today's text. And I hope that we will be able to live in hope by renewing the dreams God has given us. Now, what is God's grace to Joseph?
First, God gave Joseph a dream.
God allowed Joseph to dream and live in hope. At what time did God give Joseph a dream? God came to Joseph when he was in trouble and suffering and gave him a dream. As we know, Joseph lost his mother Rachel as a child. Joseph's mother, Rachel, gave birth to Joseph's younger brother, Benjamin, and died in pain. As a child, Joseph must have been very sad. There, Joseph was hated by his half brothers because he received special love from his father. But at that time, God did not leave him alone, but came to him and gave him a dream. God comforted and blessed Joseph through that dream. Joseph became a man of dreams. Even in the midst of life's suffering, Joseph was able to overcome any ordeal because he had hope.
Second, God Himself fulfilled Joseph's dream.
Joseph's dream came true. Although Joseph was sold to Egypt and served as a slave, he lived in hope with the dreams God had given him. He lived a life of sincerity and doing his best every day. Among them, there was the temptation of Potiphar's wife, but Joseph resolutely resisted the temptation! All. Although Joseph was imprisoned due to the plotting of his mistress, Joseph lived his life to the fullest without giving up on his dreams. The providence of God was behind it. Then he interpreted Pharaoh's dream and was chosen as the prime minister of Egypt. The dream God had given to Joseph came true.
When we think of Joseph's life in isolation, it was a great ordeal for him. However, in the midst of that hardship, God provided providence from behind and worked together so that everything would be good for Joseph.
Third, Joseph held on to his dream and did not give up on it.
Joseph went through many trials. However, he did not give up his life easily because he had a dream that God had given him. Although there were many temptations and trials, Joseph had a dream of God, so he held on to that dream and overcame all trials and lived a life of no shame in the sight of God.
Why are people living in the world as they please and people living in a mess? Because you give up too easily. If God does not give up on me, why do we give up our lives?
What is our faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for. If we hold on to the faith and live in hope, we will soon find that all our wishes come true. Just because today is hard and difficult, let's not suffer too much because of it.
The ultimate victory is guaranteed by God to us. Please don't suffer too much just because the reality is difficult. I hope that we will be able to hold on to the dream God has given us and move forward without giving up until the end, thinking that we have a tomorrow to live in even if it is difficult today. So, like Joseph, I pray in the name of the Lord that we all become the ultimate victors in life, people of success, people of blessing, and people of glory.