Chaplain’s Chat
Many people might ask the question: “What is God actually doing in His world?” We look around the world and see upheaval and uncertainty: wars, floods, bush-fires, relationship troubles to name a few. These can lead us to ask ourselves, “what is God actually doing?”. In Chapel, this term we continue to look at the book of Genesis, which is foundational to understanding the rest of the Bible.
In Genesis 37 we come across Joseph. He is the 11th son of Jacob, the grandson of Isaac and the great grandson of Abraham, to whom God gave a series of promises. From the onset, Joseph has a tough start to life. He is seen as Jacob’s favoured son, but his jealous brothers want him dead. Instead, they sell him into slavery in Egypt, where he finds himself in prison, on trumped-up charges. It looks as though God has abandoned him, but no, he is later elevated to prominence by Pharaoh to help deal with the problem of a seven-year drought. Joseph is God’s right-hand man at this time and despite his past circumstances, we realise that God is working through events to call a people to Himself.
It is a wonderful picture of how God works. God intended all of these events to ultimately save people and call them to Himself. So, what is God actually doing in his world? It is the Biblical pattern from the beginning, right through to the present. It is seen most clearly in Jesus, and it is God continuing to call people to Himself, despite the circumstances around them.
Rev. Anthony Benn
School Chaplain