Joseph¡¦s Journey
How Dreams Come True
Pt 4 ¡V The Waiting Room
This morning though I want to talk to you about the most dreaded place in American society ¡V The Waiting Room. You know when you walk in that your in trouble ¡V anyplace you go for an appointment where there are couches, magazines, and television sets ¡V kind of off the bat tells you ¡§It¡¦s gonna be a while.¡¨ Have you seen the snickers commercials ¡V ¡§Not going anywhere ¡V have a snickers.¡¨ Well as we continue looking at how dreams come true through the life of Joseph ¡V today we find a simple fact of dreams ¡V they often leave you in the waiting room for a time. Some of you are in the waiting room this morning ¡V you know you have a dream ¡V your trying to find the answer ¡V but no answer is evident ¡V your in the waiting room.
We pick up the story in chapter 41 ¡V actually remember first verse 23 of the previous chapter ¡V the cupbearer forgot him. Now it is 2 full years later ¡V two full years in the waiting room.
Genesis Chapter 41
In the waiting room
1) Patience is Still a Virtue - Have you heard the story of the young man who when speaking with God asked God- ¡§Lord how long is a million years to you? - the booming voice of God returned ¡§only a second my son¡¨ Lord he asked again ¡§How much is a million dollars to you? ¡§As a penny my son¡¨ Well Lord ¡§Could you spare a penny?¡¨ ¡§In a second my son. In a second¡¨ Waiting is not our forte in American life. Fast food, quick trips, remote controls, microwave popcorn ¡V everything in life today is meant to be a timesaver. Here are some truths about the waiting room¡K
„Y Waiting is a part of life ¡V The truth is that dreams take time. Plans don¡¦t always come to fulfillment right now. Look at the lives of the saints ¡V Noah had to wait 100years for the rain to begin, Abraham had to wait decades for Isaac to be born, Moses spent 40 years tending sheep before he was called on to lead Israel out of bondage. But all the time that the people were waiting, waiting, waiting, God was working, working, working.
„Y We don¡¦t like to wait ¡V Take a look at the line in the grocery store, a delay at the airport, or a traffic jam on the highway. You can see the tension begin to build ¡V soon you see steam begin to come from the ears ¡V people jogging from one line to the next ¡V it¡¦s amazing. The funny thing is that it really doesn¡¦t matter what we have to do ¡V it¡¦s just the issue of waiting that we find intolerable. I must confess this is not my forte ¡V I get really frustrated waiting in lines ¡V or in traffic jams. I really work hard on this.
„Y Pain hurts ¡V the truth is that when we are talking about waiting in life on our dreams often we are in the waiting room and we are in pain, were scared, and we want attention now. Some of you today are in pain ¡V spiritual, emotional or physical ¡V and the waiting seems impossible. It must have seemed that way to Joseph too. He was in a dungeon ¡V in prison for a crime he didn¡¦t commit waiting for God¡¦s deliverance that seems never to come. It has now been 13 years since God first sent Joseph a dream. That 13 years has been full of pain ¡V pits ¡V and prisons. I don¡¦t think Joseph was having a ball do you? Listen pain hurts ¡V but it is no excuse for giving up or giving in as we talked about last week.
„Y Satan Lies ¡V the truth is that the enemy uses the waiting room as a place of condemnation, fear, and frustration. How often do I hear the words ¡§Doesn¡¦t God care?¡¨ ¡§Doesn¡¦t He know¡¨ If God cared wouldn¡¦t He do something about my condition? If God really loves me why doesn¡¦t He do something?¡¨ Often our first reaction to waiting is impatience- Impatience cries out it¡¦s complaint. ¡§Why God? Don¡¦t you even Care God?¡¨ ¡§If you cared you would do something and do it now¡¨ The accuser of the brethren stands and says to us if God really cared ¡V if He really existed ¡V He would do something.
2) Hold on to the truth ¡V If we know that waiting is a part of dream fulfillment ¡V how do we find the patience to wait ¡V how do we deal with the waiting room. We need to hold on to the truth. Here are a few truths we can hold on to.
„Y He Works it Out - His Plan and Purpose can only be thwarted by us ¡V no one can change or stop God¡¦s plan for your life but you. We learned two weeks ago that no one can steal God¡¦s plan for you ¡V but what cannot be taken away can be forfeit by sin. If we are faithful ¡V His plan will come to pass. Joseph had a dream ¡V 13 years later the dream becomes a reality ¡V at any point he could have given up ¡V but he didn¡¦t and God¡¦s plan became a reality in his life. This is why I told you last week never give up ¡V never give in ¡V God¡¦s plan is coming.
„Y He Knows ¡V I want you to look at this passage ¡V God gives Joseph a dream 13 years ago ¡V now he gives Pharaoh a dream ¡V to tell him what is going to happen for the next 14 years in Egypt. It will be over 20 years from dream to fulfillment for Joseph ¡V but God knows it all. We experience life one moment at a time. We don¡¦t live a day at a time or a year at a time ¡V oh we make plans but ¡V life for us is lived in the moment. Not so for God ¡V He is not stuck in time ¡V time means little to Him ¡V He is from everlasting to everlasting. He knows it all ¡V that¡¦s why we can trust His plan ¡V He knows it all ¡V we only know a little. (ill. Jeremiah¡¦s story!)
„Y He Cares ¡V We are tempted to believe in the waiting room that God doesn¡¦t care. The truth is that He cares far more than you know ¡V but realize something ¡V God¡¦s plans, timing, and answers are all adjusted for eternity. You see He see¡¦s all things in the light of eternity. We see the moment we are living as the most important thing ¡V He see¡¦s all in the light of eternity. I am absolutely sure that Joseph did not understand why the cupbearer forgot him, why God didn¡¦t remind the man of Joseph¡¦s plight. But I believe while sitting in Pharoah¡¦s house gathering in the grain for the salvation of the people Joseph understood. Some things we will never understand ¡V others we gain at least some understanding but whether or not we understand it ¡V God knows what He is doing.
3) Hear our invitation ¡V A voice sounds ¡V the doctor will see you now. A flagman waves you through the work zone. A police officer points to your car and waves you on past the accident scene. For Joseph it was a messenger who came to the jail and told Joseph ¡V Pharaoh wants to see you ¡V but always there comes that moment of invitation. Are you still on board ¡V are you still willing to make the dream come true? Some people become so hard or heart or so despairing of spirit that they fail to respond when the summons comes. Joseph cleaned himself up ¡V prepared himself for an audience and took one more step towards making his dreams come true. Where are you in the waiting room? Angry, scared, despairing, giving up, sleeping, or are you standing ready to respond?
