You'll get through this

We began a new series this past Sunday on the Ridge. I was fortunate enough to be able to preach the first message in this series. Here it is, and let me know your thoughts.

 

 

ILLUSTRATION- Have you ever been in a difficult situation? Have you ever found yourself in a hard spot, not really knowing what to do next?

            I remember one of those events in my life as if it were yesterday.

            I was in my senior year of high school and I was downstairs in my dad’s home office, studying (cough cough) for my final exam in French.

My dad was outside mowing the lawn, and my mother and brother were nowhere to be found; so it was up to me to answer the phone should it ring, which it did, and I was completely unprepared for what happened next.

“Hello” I said.

The voice on the other end of the phone said: “We need to talk.”

Because I was so entrenched in my studies, I said: “Who’s this?” “Giselle” the voice said.

Giselle was my girlfriend during my senior year of high school.

“Ok” I said, “about what?”

“Us” she said. “Things are moving too fast and we need to break up.”

Immediately my heart sank.

I wanted to talk things through, but she had made up her mind.

I hung up the phone and I went and found my father, who by this time had come in from outside.

He sat me down and basically told me that I would get through this; although it would hurt for a while.

Because it was one week before graduation and prom, Dad suggested that I call Giselle back and ask about the various parties we were supposed to attend together and work out the details.

We did attend those graduation activities, but I have to tell you, it was awkward.

Giselle broke my heart. Eventually I moved on from her; and I married the love of my life, but it took time and a reminder from God that I needed to trust that He knew what He was doing.

This morning we are kicking off a brand new 6 part sermon series called “You’ll get through this.” This series is based on Max Lucado’s book of the same name.

ILLUSTRATION-A dear friend of mine gave me a copy of this book for Christmas, and I began to read this book as I was in the middle of a difficult situation in my life, Beth and I were in Halifax for pre-liver transplant testing.

            After I read the first chapter of this book, I knew that we needed to bring this series to our church, because each one of us has been, will be, or currently are in a difficult situation.

            What we need to know when we are in these difficult situations is that there is hope! There is Someone who is standing by ready to remind us that we will get through this.

            Our series will focus on the life of Joseph, whose story can be found in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis from chapters 37-50.

            Joseph’s life is an interesting one. He was the 11^th son of Jacob and was clearly the favorite son.

            We know this because Joseph’s mother was Rachel, and his father, Jacob, loved Rachel a little more than his other wife, Leah.

            We also know that Joseph was Jacob’s favorite because Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colours, much to the chagrin of this 10 other siblings.

            I think it’s important to note before we get too much deeper in the story that Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham, who was a rock star in the first part of Genesis.

            God made an oath to good ol’ Abe that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the sea shore, and this promise was being fulfilled

through Jacob’s decedents.

            So the characters in this story are not background people. They are, as Max Lucado says: “The Scripture’s equivalent of royalty” (Lucado, 2013, 5) they are front and center people; they are one step above VIP’s!

            This is where the story gets interesting. As mentioned a few moments ago, Joseph was the favorite son and this made his brothers furious.

ILLUSTRATION-You’d be furious too if your sibling was given a gold Cadillac and you were given a broken down Pinto; you’d be furious if your sibling was given an all-expenses paid trip to Turks and Cacaos, and you were given a one way trip to the frozen Tundra (AKA New Brunswick).

            Joseph’s brothers resented him because he was the favorite son. They were forced to work, and he was able to lounge around by the pool.

            Joseph’s siblings also hated him because he had a series of dreams, in which he told them that they would end up bowing down to him; only adding fuel to the fire.

            One day Joseph’s older brothers were out tending their fathers flocks and Jacob was wondering how they were making out, so he sent Joseph out to see how they were doing. (Clearly, Twitter had yet to be invented)

            When Joseph’s brothers spotted him coming towards them, they plotted to

kill him, but after some discussion, they decided to put him in a pit.

         We’ll pick up our story in Genesis 37:23:

            “So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them.

It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.

27 Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed.

28 So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.” (Genesis 37:23-28, NLT2)

Joseph didn’t see the attack coming; it caught him totally off guard.

All he was expecting was to chat it up with his brothers and then go back home and put some shrimp on the BBQ and enjoy his life, but that didn’t happen.

Instead of being on his way back to his daddy, he was forced to the bottom of a pit, and eventually on his way an unknown land.

Chances are that you didn’t see your pit coming either. Chances are that you were blindsided by your not-so-good-news.

ILLUSTRATION- I had no idea that my heart would get broken that night I answered the telephone; and you had no idea that your world would crumble around you either.

        It seems like you are stuck at the bottom of a waterless pit, with no way out.

I'd like to tell you that Joseph's story got better after he was thrown into the pit, but I can't. Joseph’s story got worser before it got better.

As we just read, he was sold into slavery; was taken to Potiphar’s house, promoted to a high position in Potiphar’s house, but because Mrs. Potiphar couldn’t keep her hands to herself, Joseph was sent to prison- through no fault of his own.

While in prison his good behaviour earned him a good position of responsibility over the other prisoners, only to be left out once again.

After several more years of waiting, Pharaoh finally promoted Joseph to CFO- Chief Food Overseer- and he successfully navigated Egypt through a severe

famine.

But it didn’t happen overnight. More than once, Joseph was left alone.   

Through all the hard times, Joseph never gave up. If he doubted God, he never let on about it. He simply believed that God would get him through this.

How do I know that? Fast forward 20 years of so after Joseph was sold into slavery and his brothers are now in the midst of the famine, and they come to Joseph for help.

Their father, Jacob was dead, and they were worried that Joseph would retaliate for all the terrible things they did to him, so they pleaded for mercy from Joseph.

Joseph replied in a most unusual way; look at Genesis 50:20, which also happens to be our key verse for this series:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (NLT2)

Joseph isn’t harsh with his brothers. He doesn’t even seek retribution. He simply reminded them that what they intended for evil, God redeemed for good.

No matter what comes into your life, God can redeem it for good. This is what the story of Joseph teaches us. God took something incredibly bad, and weaved it into something beautiful.

This is God’s speciality. He does His best work in our difficult situations.

ILLUSTRATION- On Wednesday, I had severe stomach pain. By 2:30 in the afternoon, I was flat on the bed where I stayed for the rest of the day and into the night.

            The pain was so bad that Beth was considering taking me to the hospital.

            As I was lying on the bed, stomach churning with pain, I was reminded of our key thought for this series.

This key thought is the first thing I see when I turn my phone on; it’s one that I have memorized, and it’s one that we will come back to again and again during this series, so I encourage you to write it down and begin to memorize it.

I believe these words will help all of us when we are in a pit; if Joseph was here with us today, this is what he might say to us about our difficult situations:

“You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don’t be foolish or naïve. But don’t despair either. With God’s help, you will get through this.” (Lucado, 2013, 3)

If God can redeem Joseph’s situation, He can certainly redeem your situation as well.

You will get through this. We fear we won’t, but the truth is, with God’s help, we will.

Hear these words from God himself, as recorded in Isaiah 43. This is a word to God’s people:

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. ² When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

³ For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Is. 43:1b-3a, NLT2)

We may feel as if we won’t get through our difficult situations, but with God’s help, we will.

It won’t be painless. We probably will have to endure some pain and trouble when we go through difficult seasons of life so it won’t be painless, nor will it be quick.

Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold into slavery and was at least 37 years old when he saw his brothers again. That’s 20 years of difficult situations.

Your situations, my situations, our situations won’t necessarily be painless or quick, but God will use your mess for good.

God is a God who is able to bring good out of bad.

Paul wrote in Romans: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

(Romans 8:28, NIV84)

            If you belong to God, He will turn your junk into treasure. It may take time, but He will use your mess for His good.

            We need to know that with God’s help, we will get through our difficult situations, one step at a time.

            We need to be reminded that: “Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31, NLT2)

            This study on the life of Joseph will remind us that You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good.

         In the meantime don’t be foolish or naïve. But don’t despair either. With God’s help, you will get through this.”

            So, what am I asking you to do today? Here are three things, pick whatever one applies to you:

·      If you find yourself in a difficult situation, take note of our key verse, found in Genesis 50:20 and our key thought and begin to ask God what it is that He wants you to learn in this difficult situation.

o   It could be that He wants you to trust in Him more;

o   It could be that He wants you to give something up;

o   It could be that God wants to show you something that you might not notice any other way…

   So begin by asking God what He wants you to know, and ask Him for help as you endure your difficult situation.

·      If you are not in a difficult situation at this moment in time, would you please pray for those of us who are? Pray that we will get through this.

·      If you’re not into praying, or don’t know how to pray, send a card, or a cheesecake to someone who is going through a hard time--and there are several people in our church who are going through a difficult time—remind them that God will use this mess for our good and His good.

·      Get involved in this study. Joshua’s Sunday school class and the Berean Tuesday morning bible study group will both be doing this study and PM and I will be speaking on a different topic each week, so do your best to be here on Sunday’s.

            The story of Joseph is included in the bible to remind us that though satan intends to harm us; God will weave it into something good.

            You’ll get through this. It won’t be painless. It won’t be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don’t be foolish or naïve. But don’t despair either. With God’s help, you will get through this.”