by Eric Elder
What kind of story would you like to hear tonight? A good story — or a bad story? (Some people will probably say, “Good!” and some will probably say, “Bad!”)
Great! Because I have a story that could be either good or bad! You just won’t know whether it’s good or bad until we get to the end.
But I know a secret that will help you to enjoy the story no matter what. It always works. It never fails. Do you want to know what it is?
ALWAYS TRUST THE STORYTELLER!
How can that help, you might ask? Well, I’ve been telling stories for many years and I watch the people as I tell the stories. When people trust the Storyteller, they love the story no matter what happens, because they know the Storyteller knows how the story ends. But when they don’t trust the storyteller, their emotions go up and down like a boat in a storm, depending on what’s happening in the story.
The truth is, only the Storyteller knows for sure how the story will end. So as long as you trust the Storyteller, you can enjoy the whole story from start to finish.
As I tell you my story tonight, you can see for yourself just how this works.
Our story starts right here in the land of Canaan and involves a young man of about seventeen years whose name was Joseph. Joseph’s father loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. In fact, he loved Joseph so much that he made a richly ornamented robe for him.
Ahhh, that’s good for Joseph, you might say. But noooo, that was actually bad. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than them, they hated Joseph.
Ahhh, that’s bad for Joseph, you might say. It’s always bad when your brothers hate you, right? But nooo, that was actually good! Because Joseph had some dreams that one day he would be in charge over all his other brothers and even his parents!
Now that’s good, right? No, that was actually bad! Because one day Joseph’s brothers mistreated him and sold him to some slave traders who took him to Egypt. Then his brothers took his beautiful robe, ripped it up, and dipped it in the blood of a goat. They took it to their father and told him that Joseph was dead!
Now that’s bad! (pause) No, that was actually good! Because God was with Joseph and he found favor in his new master’s eyes. His master’s name was Potiphar and he was an important man in Egypt. He liked Joseph so much that he put Joseph in charge of everything he owned.
Now that’s good, right? No, that’s bad. Because you see, Potiphar’s wife also liked Joseph, a little too much, and tried to seduce him. When Joseph refused, she lied to Potiphar and had Joseph sent to prison.
Now prison’s bad, right? Not for Joseph. It was good! Because God was with Joseph in prison and he was put in charge of all the other prisoners held there, even telling them what their dreams meant!
Interpreting dremas is good, right? No, that was bad, because after telling one man that his dream meant he would be released from prison, Joseph asked the man to help to release him, too -- but do you know what that man did when he got out of prison? He forgot all about Joseph and left him in prison.
Now that’s bad. (pause) No, that’s good! Because at just the right time, Pharoah himself had a dream and asked if anyone could interpret it. At that moment, the man who was released from prison said, “I know a man who can do it. His name is Joseph!”
So Pharoah called for Joseph, and Joseph told Pharoah that his dreams meant Egypt would have seven years of good crops, with lots of food to eat, followed by seven years of bad crops, with nothing to eat. So Pharaoh needed to store up enough food during the good years to feed the people during the bad. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he made him second in command over all of Egypt! Now that’s good, right? (the audience may respond, “no, it’s bad,” then say:) I tricked you! It actually was good! And it stays good for the rest of the story. When the famine reached as far as Canaan, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to get some grain. And who was in charge distributing all the grain? Their brother Joseph!
But they didn’t recognize him. Now you would have thought that Joseph wold have let them have it for what they did to him. And he did give them a bit of a scare at first.
But then Joseph said: “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you....So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. Although you meant it for evil, God meant it for good to do what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Joseph invited his father and brothers to come and live in Egypt and Joseph himself lived to be one hundred and ten years old, and that’s very, very good. You see, we never know how the story will turn out until the end. God knew what He was doing all along!
At just the right time, Joseph was born and his father loved him,
so that at just the right time his brothers would mistreat him,
so that at just the right time the slave traders would come along and buy him,
so that at just the right time he would put in charge of Potiphar’s house,
so that at just the right time Potiphar’s wife would try to seduce him,
so that at just the right time he would be thrown in jail,
so that at just the right time he would put in charge of the prisoners,
so that at just the right time he could interpret their dreams,
so that at just the right time he would be able to interpret Pharoah’s dreams,
so that at just the right time he would become second in command over all of Egypt,
so that at just the right time Joseph would be in the one place in the world where God wanted him to be so that he could save the lives of his father and brothers and many, many others...our ancestors!
Joseph knew the secret of enjoying the story of his life while he lived it out: he always trusted the Storyteller! You see, I’m not the Storyteller...(point up and look up), God is! Joseph trusted the one who gave him breath and wrote the story of his life, with all of its good times and bad times -- the same One who gave you breath and is writing the story of your life, with all of its good times and bad times! Joseph trusted the Storyteller because He’s the only one who knows for sure how it will come out in the end!
If you look at the history of our people, the Israelites, you know that we’ve had good times and we’ve had bad times, we’ve won battles and we’ve lost battles. Right now, it looks like the Romans are winning, but remember, you haven’t yet seen how the story ends.
You might be going through some terrible things yourself right now. You might be wondering why you had to come here to Bethlehem tonight, at this very time. Why, I heard someone say that there was a woman back there in the Inn who was nine months pregnant, about to give birth, and had to ride all this way on a donkey! There’s no room for her in the Inn, so she might havve to spend the night in a stable! This must be the worst moment in her life! (long pause, then a wink)
But don’t judge too quickly. I tell you, one day, she -- and all of us -- may look back and say there was not a more blessed place to be in the whole world than in Bethlehem on this very night.
No matter what you’re going through right now, don’t let that ruin how you live out the story of your own life! Do what Joseph did!
ALWAYS TRUST (point up and look up) THE STORYTELLER! (long pause so they can absorb this, and then...)
Thank you for coming and I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here in Bethlehem! (bow)
(Author’s note: my thanks to Ray Pritchard for the inspiration to retell this story.)
