Lessons for the Covid-19 Days of our Lives - Part 1

The Covid-19 Days of our Lives

I will be honest and admit, that in college, almost every day you could find me in front of the Television to watch “The Days of Our Lives”. I am not for sure how it all began, but I think the initial “crush” I had with the character Hope started it all, but then the stories of the people kept bringing me back.

This phrase “Days of Our Lives” has taken on a much different meaning during the “Covid-19 Days of our Lives”. I like so many of you, am trying to make the most of them, learn from them, and attempt to see these days with heaven’s eyes and not my own.

In these days we have seen things such as this that run the entire spectrum of things...death, sickness, economic devastation, more time with family, less time at church, conflicting news and instructions, fear, great faith, more time for walks, etc.

Paul gave us this counsel...Ephesians 5:15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.     17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

One of the key things in these "days of Covid 19" is that God's people should be moving more toward wisdom, not foolishness, by understanding the will of the Lord. 

I find I’m reading the Bible more in these days and going to it for lessons that will instruct and illuminate the path we are on in these most unprecedented days. I am often reminded of how the Sacred Scripture serves to teach us much and this verse from Paul often comes to mind…

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 

Look what it says…those ancient days of people’s lives & their experiences were written down for our instruction in the Bible, so that those of us on “whom the end of the ages has come” would know how to make the most of the days that come upon us. Paul, 2,000 years ago referred to his days at the one "on whole the end of the ages has come". If that was the case in his generation, how much closer are we in ours to God's final work.

What are some things we are to learn in these unique days?

I could not help in these days to drift back to Genesis 37-50 and learn some things from the life of Joseph. I am not going to write about every detail, so I am going to assume you are familiar enough with the story to be reminded of these important lessons relevant to our time right now. 

Running through the narrative of Joseph’s life is THE central character of those 13 chapters in Genesis, where the real central character is God, who is providentially at work behind the scenes accomplishing His purposes in Joseph’s life in some really long days of waiting and trial. His path would not be an easy one, but one in which God was Sovereignly at work.

I am going to share key pieces of God’s Sovereign Work in his life for our reading over the next days, so that we can have perspective in the days in which we are living in. 

I've been thinking about all of this family time we have been given in Covid-19, for some this is a good time, but for others being at home is devastating because of anger, alcoholism, lack of money, abuse, etc. 

Can God even be at work in the dysfunction that can be family?

Here is our first lesson…

1.  Don’t Let Dysfunction Define You – Genesis 37:1-4

As we are introduced to Joseph in Genesis 37, we begin an encounter with one of the most significant men of God in the Old Testament.  As we meet him, he is 17 and lives in one of the most dysfunctional families in the Bible.

(1) History of his family (See Genesis 29)

·      Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – all 3 wrestled with bad decisions concerning women, truth telling and manipulation.

·      With Jacob his father - Deception ran deep in the family – Jacob was a liar and manipulator

You see, Jacob wasn’t the world’s greatest father, as he made many mistakes with his family. He allowed his wives to establish a climate where they battled over who could have the most children, thus creating a climate of rivalry within the family. He seemingly would have let Dinah marry the pagan who raped her and then he didn’t deal with the treachery and brutality of his sons after Dinah’s rape. And here he is blind to his other sons’ hatred toward Joseph, whom he openly favors. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent Joseph into this volatile situation. Jacob was an insensitive and foolish father.

I think over time Jacob got out of touch with his children and did not know what was going on even though it was right in front of his face.

This was Joseph’s father and the environment in which he grew up.

(2) Home Life

·      He lived in and around 1 Birth Mother and 3 Step Mothers and 10 half-brothers

·      Rachel – His mom was jealous and controlling 

·      Stepmoms – Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah – there is no doubt they loved their sons more in the family dynamic of Jacob’s house

·      Tension, animosity, jealousy, etc. defined the home

(3) Hatred from His brothers

He had 10 of them and every one of them knew Joseph was the favorite. In case you were to think that they really did not hate him, it says it 3 times and 1 of jealousy…

·      37:4 – hated him and could not speak peaceably with him.

·      37:5 – when he told it to his brothers they hate him even more.

·      37:8 – so they hated him even more for his dreams and his words.

·      37:11 – and his brothers were jealous of him.

·       

            The Bible’s Validity

***One of the reasons the Bible has so much validity to it is that the main characters have so many flaws.  There is so much honesty concerning the key players, which affirms in so many ways the strength and truth of the scripture. The Holy Spirit as He authored the Scripture did not hide any of these, but led men to write them down.***

            Family Dynamic

In every one of our lives, we have things that have happened or are happening in our family that are not so shiny and neat, even in our attempts to make sure everything appears so clean and all-together.  We make a bad decision to spend more energy making sure everything looks okay, instead of dealing with the reality of what our family may be going through.

With Joseph’s family, there is not a great way to tidy it all up other than to simply say that He grew up in the midst of great dysfunction, but it never defined who he was.  

This reality leads us to consider some really good points to ponder. Let’s begin now by learning some things about dealing with family…

            Two Things about Family

(1) Dysfunction Does Not Have to Define Our Lives

There is no doubt that our environment can really affect us and expose us to things that are not best for us, but we should never see our family environment as some kind of sovereign shaping environment.  A difficult or bad family does not mean someone will automatically turn out angry, make bad choices, etc. We don’t have to be defined by the choices and words of our parents or siblings.  It does not have to be this way. By trusting in Christ, people in difficult family settings can find a stability & shaping that is transforming for the good. 

It is clear from the text that we will see today that Joseph was able to navigate his way through all of the hatred, four moms, etc.

He did so because he trusted God at a young age, and that is why I believe God revealed Himself to Joseph in dreams, for Joseph’s heart was already bent toward God and that faith allowed Him to find stability in his life.

            The Work of Christ

Christ does that for so many people, he allows us to move on and find freedom from things that are devastating or right in the midst of them. 

(2) Don’t let Dysfunction Justify Bad Decisions

In our current culture, there are so many who justify their bad decisions based on their family life being less than a grand place to live.  They allow the past grievances to condone and validate the choices they are currently are making that are destructive, assuming they can do bad things just because they have had bad things happen to them. This is a lie!

We don’t have to continue to make bad decisions.  Joseph shows us a great example to follow and learn from.

            God at Work in Difficult Settings

So often, God uses the difficult settings of our lives to shape us and make us more like His Son - as that is the Father’s aim for our lives.  These moments and environments can serve as steppingstones to a deeper life in Christ. In my life of ministry and in my own life, I have seen family pain lead to the greatest intimacy, ministry, and influence.

So how is it going with your family in these days? Let's make sure we don’t let the dysfunction define us regardless of our position in the family or how we see ourselves in God's eyes.

That concludes part 1.