What to Do When Life Isn’t Fair

When unexpected and unjust suffering hits us straight on it’s hard to imagine any other strategy than survival. So much of our lives are spent trying to avoid such times that when we do have to experience them, we tend to become unglued.

This coming Saturday evening (6:00 pm) and Sunday morning (10:00 am) we’re going to be studying the account of a man named Joseph. His story is so compelling that even blockbuster movies have been made about it. What makes Joseph’s life get our attention is how much of it was just plain unfair. Joseph was a man of integrity and character, but everywhere he turned, people, including his own family, were doing everything possible to destroy him.

After thirteen years of one disaster after another, Joseph finally ends up as one of the most powerful men in the world. But ironically, he doesn't use his power to punish people. Rather, he literally saves the lives of millions of underfed people.

If you are thinking, “God has to be behind this guy somehow,” you are exactly right. Joseph’s life wasn’t a series of random chance events which incredibly came together to create an inspiring success story. No, Joseph would be the first to say his life was a testimony to what God can do with a person even in the most extreme situations.

The Bible story of Joseph is a story for each one of us. There will be times in life when we’ll wonder out loud, “God, what are you doing to me? Why are you letting this happen? Where are you?” It is in those moments we can claim the same promise and hope Joseph had when he was sold as a slave far from home or sitting in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. More than that, we can actively live out that hope on a daily basis. For the follower of Jesus Christ, life is about much, much more than survival, even when it isn’t fair.

Have You Ever Made a Deal with God?

Most of us, at one time or other, found ourselves in a situation that was disastrous and we couldn’t do anything to make it better. So we did the only thing we could think of – we tried to make a deal with God. It probably went something like this:

“Dear God, I just don’t know what to do. I’m so confused. I know I haven’t been the best person in the world, but I’ve tried hard to be good. I really need your help now. And I promise, I really do, that if you get me out of this I will be the best person ever!”

In the heat of that desperate moment we surely meant everything we said, but looking at that kind of prayer from a more objective point of view, it’s pretty clear we were looking for a quick fix for our problems and we figured God was the best option available to give us what we wanted.

Whether or not we received what we asked for on that occasion, the truth is, the best thing we can do is let God make a deal with us.

“God makes a deal with people?”

That’s right. His deals are called covenants. This Sunday we’re going to look at a covenant God made with a man named Abraham about 4000 years ago. In the most important part, that 4000 year old deal God offered Abraham is the same deal he offers us today. It’s a win-win deal in which God does what only he can do and in return he asks only for a grateful, sincere love.

If you’ve gone through life making deals with God which have continually left you disappointed, join us this Saturday evening (6:00 pm) or Sunday morning (10:00 am) to consider the life changing deal God offers you.