Damariscotta Baptist Church

 

 

How many of you have ever been in a group setting where you are working on trusting each other and you are asked to do what they call a “Trust Fall?”

I found this example on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HyjpAJkJ40

Ouch!

That poor gentleman trusted his fellow believers, he just wasn’t given all the important details, as in which way he was supposed to fall. 

This video represents real life – even people we trust will sometimes let us down. 

Even fathers, who are supposed to be supporting you and behind you, can sometimes let you down. 

But not so with our Father in heaven. He is perfectly trustworthy!  I am so glad that is the truth and I fervently believe it, but there are times when I feel like the man standing on the chair. There are times when I wish God would give me more details regarding the plan He has for me. I keep asking Him if I could possibly know the outcomes of situations prior to the end. I promise Him I will stick through it with Him, but for my curiosity and peace of mind, it would be nice if He would lay out a nice presentation describing how things are going to unfold. Mainly so I can put my own two cents worth into the mix and hopefully it will turn out like I plan. 

But not to be. That’s not how God operates. Like a good father, He wants us to grow, grow in faith, grow in trust, grow in wisdom and grace. That growth won’t happen if we keep getting our way and life is easy. 

 

Jim Hauden, the CEO for an organization called, “Root” is a public speaker for businesses who want their company to grow and exceed their own expectations. This is a quote from Mr. Hauden found in “Inc.” magazine, 

“When adversity is avoided or kept from us, it prevents the rich roots of character, learning, resilience, creativity and conviction to germinate.Adversity plays a vital role in growth and greatness. In simple terms: no adversity, no growth. Instead of avoiding adversity, we need to hug it! It is the fuel for greatness.”

 

The Bible has many stories of individuals who started out one way and encountered what one might call, disasters, But because they were following God, it turned out to be a blessing. 

 

Let’s look at the story of Joseph. He starts his life as the  favorite son of Jacob and his favorite wife Rachel. 

Right away, the story has some dysfunctional family issues, with all the “favorites” but that is for another message. Everyone in the family knew this and his brothers couldn’t stand him, enough so they considered killing him, but the kind heartedness of one brother stepped in and they decided to sell Joseph as a slave to a band of Egyptians. They lie to their father Jacob, claiming he had been attacked and eaten by a ferocious animal. As a slave, God assists Joseph and he makes his way up to be the top servant, under Potipher, an official for the Pharaoh. Again, someone has disdain for Joseph, this time because he does the right thing, so instead of sleeping with Potipher’s wife, she has him thrown in jail. Do you think somewhere along the line Joseph isn’t wondering if it is worth following God, if maybe doing the wrong thing, might just get him further in life? 

Even while in jail, he kept in relationship with God, and the LORD was with him, he was shown favor to the warden of the jail, who put him in charge of all of the prisoners. Definitely leadership material. 

Joseph also has empathy, because as the leader of all the inmates, Joseph meets the cupbearer and chief baker of Pharaoh, who had been thrown in jail because Pharaoh was mad at them. Joseph notices they looked sad and asks them why. They proceeded to tell him that they both had dreams but no one to interpret. Joseph declared that God was able to interpret and after listening to their dreams tells them both what they meant, and it turns out Joseph was correct. 

This means nothing, because the cupbearer totally forgot what Joseph had done, for two years. Until one day, Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret, and the cupbearer has a bell ring in his head. 

Hey, I know of someone in prison who can tell you what your dream means. You all know the end of the story, Joseph becomes the second-highest official in Egypt.  

But do you remember, that it was 22 years from the time Joseph was sold as a slave, until he sees his brothers again? 

A lot happened in those 22 years, and through it all, Joseph trusted God, to protect him and comfort him. And when Joseph finally sees his brothers, his response wasn’t one of disdain and disgust, but he was able to say with confidence, 

“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

Oh that we too could be like Joseph? 

 

That we could put our trust in our Father, knowing that He has a plan that should we continue to call out to Him and abide in Him, will be a better plan than we could ever create on our own. 

Let’s take a moment, right now, and marvel at God’s goodness. 

Take a moment and recall the times God has shown Himself trustworthy in your life.

Let’s ask Him for the guidance, wisdom and grace only He can give, and then give Him praise because He is indeed a good, good father. 

May you fall into God’s arms, knowing that He will always be there to catch you. 

 Let’s pray.