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Scripture: Genesis 37-47
Idea: The proper response to uncertainty is to accept it as from him, look for his hand, and live as men and women who are confident that God is with us.
Introduction
Please turn to Genesis 37....
1. If you are one who really wants to follow God, it is more difficult to follow when circumstances point to the fact that he isn’t interested in being followed. He seems to be waving you off. And he’s not intending to reward your efforts.
2. Uncertainty leaves us confused as to how to approach God.
* He’s so quiet.
* He’s so still.
* He seems so distant.
3. I want to end my prayers with, "So what do you think? What are you going to do? You heard my opinion, what’s yours?"
* You ask God to change the heart of your child and-no answer.
* You ask God for a better work situation . . . and . . .
* You don’t want to spend the rest of your life single . . .
* You don’t want to spend the rest of your life with your spouse-unless he/she changes . . .
4. The Bible makes it look simple. God kept appearing to say, "Hang in there."
5. When things aren’t great, it’s tempting to think he is not interested in the details of my life.
6. This raises two questions: What is God up to when he is so quiet? What are we to do in the meantime?
7. We have said so far: Pray. Remember. Seek. Today, the most difficult and yet the most obvious. FOLLOW.
Why Follow? My Bible and my experience make one thing very clear . . .
I. God does his greatest, his most significant, and his deepening works individually and corporately during times of uncertainty.
A. Your favorite Bible stories, your favorite Psalms, and the most comforting passages of Scripture were birthed during times of uncertainty.
1. God was not absent during these transitional times. He was more active than at any other time.
2. In each example, these men/women’s lives were interrupted . . . the familiar, predictable things were wrenched away. The structure of their lives disintegrated. There was no doubt a sense of panic. It seemed like God had fallen asleep at the wheel-and in the middle of what felt like total chaos, he showed up in ways we are still marveling about.
You read and watch their faithfulness and wonder-what if they had abandoned God? Think of what they would have missed. God was at work and they would have never known.
B. From God’s perspective, uncertain times are opportunities to do something in us.
1. He can do more in us during times of uncertainty than he could ever do in the normal 9 to 5, everything-the-way-it-ought-to-be times. Why?
2. All of us are idolaters at heart. We each have a natural propensity to lean on and trust in the things we create or are created by someone else.
* Our job tenures, our businesses, our finances, our 401Ks, other investments, our network of friends and associates, our families, and our good health.
* All of these things represent STRUCTURE, familiarity, and order.
* Nothing wrong with that. It is the image of God in us that motivates us to create order from chaos.
* But they can become comfort zones that wean us away from
dependency on the Father.
So, when God comes along and shakes our structures or allows them to be shaken, we panic. And in our states of panic . . .
3. But when our structures are shaken, when we move through transitions, he has our undivided attention.
* When God has our undivided attention, we are positioned to grow like crazy.
* Suddenly, what’s real, what’s important becomes the focus of our attention.
* It is then, when he is all we have, that we discover he is all we need.
C. From God’s perspective, uncertainty creates opportunities to do something through us as well.
For God to accomplish something great in and through us, we must respond correctly to times of uncertainty. I want us to look at the story of a boy who got it right-a favored son who became a slave-a slave who became an inmate-an inmate who became a prime minister. And throughout 13 years of uncertainty, remained faithful...
II. The Story of Joseph...
[Review, emphasizing, "The Lord was with Joseph..."]
A. He was faithful as a slave.
1. Far from home.
2. God didn’t seem to care.
3. Verse 9 ". . . and sin against God."
The God who abandoned you to your brothers? That God?
His reward? Framed for rape.
B. He was faithful as a convicted criminal (20-21).
1. He followed God in that uncertainty.
2. He assumed God’s care and presence.
3. Verse 40:8 ". . . belong to God." The God that let you be framed?
4. His reward? Forgotten (23).
Two more years go by. For all he knows, he is in prison forever. God is not answering his prayers. No answers appear. No signs. No miracles. No voices. Nothing.
[Read 41:1; then skip to 15]
C. He was faithful as a servant to Pharaoh.
Verses 16, 25, 28 . . . "God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
D. He was faithful as a wounded brother (45:1-9).
[Review story]
1. What does a wounded brother do when he is confident God is with him?
2. He saw God in the midst of the uncertainty and responded accordingly.
3. Verses 50:15-20.
Do you know what Joseph did throughout his 13 years of uncertainty? He conducted himself as any man in his circumstances would who was confident that God was with him.
He assumed God’s hand in the uncertainty. He accepted the uncertainty as coming from God.
III. For God to accomplish what he wants to accomplish in your uncertainty, you must see him in it and respond accordingly.
A. Joseph saw God in the transition and, consequently, God was able to work through this transition that lasted over ten years.
1. Joseph didn’t see himself as a victim.
* He saw himself as a player.
* He didn’t know it, but he had a leading role.
* He was the point man for a very significant work of God.
B. Our response must be like his. My boss, ex-husband, children, school, teacher may have meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.
How would someone in your situation act if he were confident that God was with him?
C. You don’t have to respond that way.
1. You can get mad at God-"You messed up my life!"
2. You can resist and take control.
3. And you can miss what he would have done and could have done if you had only surrendered to his unknown purposes and plans.
Conclusion
1. Uncertainty is a fact of life. It is not evidence of God’s inactivity. This may be his most active time nationally and personally.
2. This is not the time to doubt. This is the time to follow closer than ever.
3. Good news. Your heavenly Father is the master of uncertainty. He does this all the time. He is in control. And he has something in mind for you, your family, and his kingdom.
4. You can trust him. Live as a man or a woman who is confident that God is with you.
Pray. Remember. Seek. Follow.
(c) 200? North Point Ministries, Inc.
When the Fasten Seatbelt Sign Comes On #4
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