Investigating the Bible: Serenity in suffering

By DAVID CARLSON PASTOR

The Serenity Prayer is a tradition in the Alcoholics Anonymous organization: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” One man in the Old Testament learned serenity through painful life setbacks.

Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Israel. “Now Israel [also called Jacob], loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him.” (Genesis 37:3-4, English Standard Version used throughout). Joseph was more despised when he tattled to his father a report of his brothers’ shoddy work and he unwisely shared two dreams, where Joseph was the ruler to whom his brothers and father would bow down.

Three times, Joseph suffered greatly. Jacob sent seventeen-year-old Joseph to check on his brothers, who were supposed to be watching flocks near the town of Shechem. Joseph found them 20 miles to the north. “They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what becomes of his dreams.’” (Genesis 37:18-20). Reuben, the eldest, had his brothers throw Joseph in a pit without his multicolored cloak, and no food or water, planning to rescue him later. When Reuben was gone, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery to Midianites traveling to Egypt.

In Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, a captain of Pharaoh’s armies. Evil struck again. Potiphar’s wife lusted for Joseph, but he didn’t yield. She eventually lied, claiming Joseph tried to rape her. He was cast into a prison, however “… the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” (Genesis 39:21).

The last injustice came from a fellow prisoner. A former cupbearer of Pharaoh had a puzzling dream. God gave Joseph the correct interpretation; the man would be restored to his honored position. The man promised he would remember Joseph, however, “… the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (Genesis 39:23). Two years passed. Pharaoh had troubling dreams which no one could interpret. The cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and he was rescued from prison. God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams. “Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find a man like this, in who is the Spirit of God?’” (Genesis 41:38). Joseph became the ruler to save Egypt and neighboring Israel.

Tommy Herr was a professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a solid hitter and a skilled second baseman with a near perfect fielding percentage of .989. He expected to end his career with the Cardinals. However, at age 32 and after nine years with the team, manager Whitey Herzog, who had been like a second father for him, called him to his office. Edward Grinnan, in “The Promise of Hope,” wrote that Whitey said, “You’ve given everything we’ve asked of you, Tommy, (but) we need more power in the lineup. We’ve traded you to the Twins … .”. Tommy was devastated “… and it hurt, really hurt.” In his first game with the Minnesota Twins, he got on base. Still upset, his wife suggested he read the story of Joseph. Herr was amazed. “Wow! …[Joseph] lost everything, including something he wore proudly, his many-colored coat, just like I lost the Cardinal uniform I wore so proudly…maybe too proudly. We don’t always control what happens to us, or what other people do. I keep reminding myself of that. We control our reaction.”

David Carlson Pastor (yes, that is his last name, not his profession) is a Polk County resident and graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary in Minnesota (M.Div., M.Th.).