TRUSTING GOD … WHEN GOD PUTS YOUR LIFE ON HOLD!
“Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them. While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them. And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.” So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” “This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.” When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head. The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.” “This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.” Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials. He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup. But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream. Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.” (Genesis 40:1–41:1, NLT)
(SLIDE 2)
INTRODUCTION
One cold winter day, a teacher was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his boots as he was about to leave and go out into the cold. He had asked for help and she could see why. Even with pulling and pushing, the little boots still didn’t want to go on. Eventually by the time the teacher had got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.
She almost cried when the little fellow said “But Teacher they’re on the wrong feet. Sure enough they were! It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than putting them on. Managing to keep her cool, she helped him with much effort to get the boots on the correct feet.
No sooner had she got them on when the youngster announced “Teacher, these aren’t my boots” She bit her tongue rather than scream at him as she desperately wanted to … “Why didn’t you say so?” Once again she struggled as she helped him pull the ill-fitting boots off. As the second boot came off the lad said “They are my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear them!” The exasperated teacher didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! But with extreme patience she mustered up what tattered grace she still had and helped the boy wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping to put his coat on she asked “Now where are your mittens?” He said “I stuffed them in the toes of my boots!”
The teacher is eligible for parole in three years! Talk about patience needed! I’m sure being patient is a problem for most of us especially when we are in a hurry to get on. No more so when we seem to find ourselves in the doldrums of life, marking time trying to understand why God has put our lives on hold.
Certainly Joseph could identify with this. Thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit, God had been with him and soon he had risen to a position of helping the warder. Then came the day when he had a ‘lucky break’. He had interpreted the strange dreams of the chief butler and the chief baker. Joseph suggests that the baker will be executed and the butler freed. On telling the butler the good news, Joseph asks him a favour “And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.” (Genesis 40:14, NLT). In due course it happens just as Joseph said it would. The baker is impaled, the butler restored to his former position. As soon as the butler gets back to the palace he institutes proceedings to secure Joseph’s release! Right? Wrong! The Bible says “Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.” (Genesis 40:23, NLT). Two years pass before anything happens, two long years. Joseph in the midst of it must have thought that God had forgotten him. Like the Psalmist, Joseph must often have cried out … “O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?” (Psalm 13:1, NLT)
God put Joseph’s life on hold because he needs to learn some valuable lessons. Over the past few weeks we have learnt much from Joseph’s experience about …
1. TRUSTING GOD … IN ALL OUR LIVES … You may recall that we a said we can trust God if we …
REMEMBER THAT GOD …
• WORKS SOVEREIGNLY
• WORKS STRANGELY
• WORKS SLOWLY …
IN ALL THAT HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES
We looked at the events leading up to Joseph becoming a slave in Potipher’s house and we saw that …
2. TRUSTING GOD WHEN YOUR DREAMS GO DOWN THE DRAIN …
YOU CAN TRUST GOD IF YOU REMEMBER THAT …
• GOD ENGINEERS THE CIRCUMSTANCES
• GOD ESTABLISHES THE REASON
• GOD ENSURES THE TIMING
Then considering the rise and fall of Joseph’s tenure in Potipher’s Palace we learnt about…
3. TRUSTING GOD WHEN TEMPTATION CREEPS IN…
We saw that Joseph learnt that …
TRUSTING GOD IN TEMPTATION MEANT
• REALISING HIS VULNERABILITY
• RECOGNISING WHAT TEMPTATION IS
• RELYING ON GOD’S ASSISTANCE
Last week we saw how Joseph reacted when he had been wronged. Joseph taught us valuable lessons not only on overcoming bitterness but how to honour the Lord and even to be a source of blessing to others when you keep on…
4. TRUSTING GOD WHEN WE HAVE BEEN WRONGED…
JOSEPH CHOSE …
• TO LIVE IN THE FUTURE NOT IN THE PAST
• TO SET FREE THOSE WHO HAD INJURED HIM
• TO ALLOW GOD TO BLESS OTHERS THROUGH HIM
So on to today’s topic:
5. TRUSTING GOD WHEN GOD PUTS YOUR LIFE ON HOLD!
To do this, we will examine how…
JOSEPH HAD TO LEARN TO …
• TRUST IN GOD’S PERSON
• TRUST IN GOD’S PURPOSE
• TRUST IN GOD’S PROGRAM
We shall consider each in turn as we look at Joseph’s imprisonment having been falsely accused of a crime he had not committed.
(SLIDE 3)
JOSEPH HAD TO LEARN TO TRUST IN GOD’S PERSON
A man was visiting a local department store with his wife. They had just purchased an item of luggage and a new cooler box. As he was waiting for his wife to finish the rest of her shopping he dragged the suitcase and cooler around with looking for somewhere to sit. He saw an empty bench in the shoe department. As he sat down, the salesman asked if he could be of assistance. “No, thank you," the man replied. “I’m just waiting for my wife." At that point, a man seated on the bench across from him said, "I’m waiting for my wife, too, but I never thought of bringing a lunch and an overnight bag with me!"
Steve Farrar says “Waiting is like eating gravel. Nobody in their right mind wants to do it.” (Steve Farrar – ‘God Built’ pg 130)
For all of us waiting, especially for an extended period is the pits. None more so than Joseph! Having managed his way to the top, he once again found himself rock bottom due to no fault of his own. Once again, his life was on hold, only this time he didn’t know for how long. He did not know if he would ever get out of the situation in which he found himself.
Sadly there wasn’t much he could do about it and even when the opportunity presented itself through helping the chief butler, nothing came of it… or so he thought. But one thing kept Joseph’s hope alive, He knew that God had not abandoned him. Notice …
“But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love.” (Genesis 39:21a, NLT)
“The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” (Genesis 39:23b, NLT)
Joseph knew that he could trust in God, for God would never abandon him. He knew that the God he believed in was all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful and totally faithful. Whatever lay ahead, Joseph knew that he could depend on God. Joseph knew the truth, that Jeremiah centuries later would express when he said …
“The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.” (Lamentations 3:19–25, NLT)
As with Jeremiah, in the dark hours when doubt assailed, Joseph could continue to trust in the God who was faithful, merciful and compassionate. On this he could depend, God never changed; the God who had helped him to rise to the position of manager of Potipher’s entire estate, was the same God who allowed him to find favour with the prison warder permitting him to take charge of the affairs of the prison and Joseph knew was the same faithful God who would see him through whatever ordeal he had to face.
Remember that lovely anonymous couplet …
“Yesterday God helped me; today He will do the same.
How long will this continue? Forever, praise His Name!”
Remember also the precious promise of God given to His people as He led them through the Wilderness …
“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”” (Deuteronomy 31:6, NLT)
Beloved, if God has put your life on hold, if you are being forced to wait for an answer to your prayers, if God’s intervention in your life seems to be delayed … do not lose hope, do not give up, even if it does not make sense REMEMBER GOD IS IN CONTROL AND HE HAS NOT CHANGED, He is with you, He will keep you, He has a plan for what is happening to you.
The God who helped Joseph through those agonizing years of languishing in prison, who kept Moses for 40 years kicking his heels minding sheep in the desert for his father-in-law is the same God who will walk with you through your period of waiting. He is faithful, YOU CAN DEPEND ON IT.
(SLIDE 4)
JOSEPH HAD TO LEARN TO TRUST IN GOD’S PURPOSE
Joseph had to learn another lesson, to trust that when God puts your life on hold, God was still working! Even if to Joseph it appeared that nothing was happening, he had to learn that God was still busy behind the scenes working out His purpose for Joseph and the advancement of His Kingdom.
Do you think it was good fortune that Joseph was given the task of managing the affairs of the prison? Do you think it was coincidence that the chief butler and the chief baker are assigned to the care of Joseph by the very person who had Joseph thrown into prison, Potiphar? You didn’t know that?
Well look at 39:1 … “When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.” (Genesis 39:1, NLT)
And now look at 40:3-4 … “and he put them (the butler and the baker) in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.” (Genesis 40:3–4, ESV)
Now it begins to fall into place, Joseph is bought as a slave by Potiphar, the head of the Correctional Services of Egypt whose home is attached/close by the prison. Potiphar throws Joseph into the prison under his control. Interesting is the suggestion that rape, of which Joseph was accused was punishable in Egypt by death. Joseph is incarcerated not executed by Potiphar and soon finds himself managing the prison under Potiphar’s control.
When the butler and baker anger Pharaoh and are thrown into prison, Potiphar assigns them to Joseph’s care. It is also interesting to realise that neither of these men, the Chief Butler and the chief baker, were mere servants but rather were high-ranking officials in Pharaoh’s Household with a degree of influence.
What happened wasn’t due to Joseph’s manipulation of his circumstances or Potiphar’s management skills; it was the working out of God’s Purposes. To those involved at the time it may have been seen as just a series of unrelated events but we know in hindsight it was God at work! Even the two years when it seemed that the butler had forgotten Joseph, GOD WAS PUTTING INTO PLACE HIS PERFECT PLAN.
Beloved what is going on or perhaps not going on in your life is certainly not a series of random unrelated events. God is at work in your life, making the Plan He has for you come together. Like Hannibal Smith of the 80’s TV series ’The A Team’ … “I just love it when a plan comes together!”
BUT WHAT DID JOSEPH DO whilst God was putting the pieces of His great tapestry into place? Did he sit back, fold his hands and say piously God is at work so I will sit back and do nothing? Most definitely not! He continued to serve God and to use the ‘SHAPE’ that God had given him. When the butler and the baker came along, JOSEPH SAW THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO SERVE AND GLORIFY GOD.
He did not complain: “I’m not going to go out of my way to help these two. Nobody appreciates me around here, anyway. Potiphar wouldn’t believe me. His wife betrayed me. These Egyptians are all the same. Why should I go out of my way to help these two criminals? What can they do for me?”
Perhaps this is precisely where we are when our lives are put onto hold; jaded, disillusioned, frustrated, and discouraged. So we decide that we will throw in the towel, give up on serving the Lord. When your life is on hold keep on doing what God has told and equipped you to do until you hear from God to the contrary.
Joseph was not consumed with himself and what was happening. Languishing in prison he had every excuse in the world just to roll over and to bury his talent in the ground. But he stayed committed to God, using God given shape and eventually God used that very gift to get him into the throne room of Pharaoh!
God wants to do the same with us. We must serve him faithfully in the dark as well as in the light without losing heart! Remember, GOD IS BUSY, PREPARING US, TRAINING US FOR WHAT HE HAS IN STORE FOR US.
“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (Isaiah 64:4, NLT)
(SLIDE 5)
JOSEPH HAD TO LEARN TO TRUST IN GOD’S PROGRAM
We do not know exactly how long Joseph was in prison before the arrival of the two aides of Pharaoh, or how long they were in prison before they had their respective dreams. What we do know is that within three days of their dreams, God had fulfilled what had been prophetically dreamt. Three days of waiting was all the butler and the baker had but for Joseph it was another two long years before God moved Joseph from Potiphar’s pit to Pharaoh’s palace. Two long years and Joseph during that period didn’t know how long or when it would end.
There is waiting and waiting! Throughout the Bible God caused many of His saints to wait. How we respond to the wait is important.
• ABRAHAM WAITED 13 YEARS for God to fulfill His promise of a son through whom the world was to be blessed. Tired of waiting and disbelieving that God could or would fulfill His promise, Abraham and Sarah made the mistake of trying to manipulate circumstances to bring about the fulfillment of the promise, with far reaching consequences.
• MOSES HAD TO WAIT 40 YEARS to see the fulfillment of God’s calling on his life to lead the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. In the interim he had to tend sheep for his father-in-law. All this happened because he impetuously took the law into his own hands and killed the Egyptian slave-driver.
• THE ISRAELITES HAD TO WAIT 40 YEARS to receive the Promised Land given to them by God, through disbelief and listening to the crowd rather than trusting God.
• SAUL HAD TO WAIT FOR SEVEN DAYS for Samuel to arrive so as to receive God’s blessing upon their battle with the Philistines. But impatience, fear and crowd pressure got the better of him and he defied God by offering the sacrifice himself. Not waiting on God’s appointed time cost him everything. Read all about it in 1Sam 13.
Waiting is a vital part of God’s Program. Resisting God’s timing has serious consequences! Even when it seems as if our life is placed on hold by God forever, do not take things into your own hands … Be Warned!
Remember the words of Jeremiah … “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.” (Jeremiah 17:5–6, NLT)
Rather take to heart the words of Peter …“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:9, NLT)
GOD USES TIME TO WORK OUT HIS PURPOSES.
Rather than asking “How long, God?” we need to be asking “What is God trying to teach me in this delay?” and “Is there something that God wants to use this time to change in my life?”
A French engineer was traveling on board a ship in the Mediterranean Ocean when a fellow passenger contracted a contagious disease. With the result the ship was quarantined. This confinement frustrated the engineer. To pass the time he read the memoirs of Charles le Pere, who had done a feasibility study on constructing a canal linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. As he read the autobiography, he began to devise a detailed plan for the construction of the Suez Canal, which was completed under his leadership in 1869. For Ferdinand de Lesseps, that ship’s quarantine, that experience of having his life put on hold turned out to be immensely valuable to the World.”
Joseph did not waste the time in “God’s Waiting Room” bemoaning his situation, rather he allowed God gainfully use the time to prepare him for what lay ahead.
(SLIDE 6)
CONCLUSION
Waiting is easy to talk about; it is another matter to live it out. If you feel that your life has been put on hold, if you are waiting for God’s intervention in a situation that you have handed over to Him and it seems as if an answer is slow in coming then take the advice of the psalmist and keep on saying …
“I am counting on the LORD; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in His word.” (Psalm 130:5, NLT)
Therein is the way ahead: To keep your hope alive, STAY IN THE SCRIPTURES. Every time you feel despondent and want to give up … go back to the Word of God and let Him encourage you as you wait for Him to come through for you, feed off of His promises as you … CONTINUE TO …
• TRUST IN HIS PERSON
• TRUST IN HIS PURPOSES
• TRUST IN HIS PROCESS
And like Joseph you will discover that the wait is worth it as God intervenes in your life and you can say with the Psalmist…
“But I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to the LORD because He is good to me.” (Psalm 13:5–6, NLT)
(Next time … TRUSTING GOD … WHEN THINGS GO YOUR WAY)
PRAYER
Blessed Heavenly Father God, our hearts praise You, this morning and our inmost soul exults Your Holy name; for the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever.
We praise You, O God, for all that You have been to us in the past, and can, each one of us, recount Your praise by virtue of our personal experience of Your goodness. You have dealt well with us, O Lord, according to the promises of Your Word. You have carried us through many wilderness experiences with unchanging love and goodness, for the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever.
O Lord, today we would cling to You all the more …“For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.” (Psalm 56:13, NLT)
We know that without your help and guidance, the complexities of life would overwhelm us. Forgive us when we have relied on our own wisdom and used our own resources to try to manipulate circumstances, Forgive us for not trusting that in Your faithfulness you will never abandon us, for not trusting that in Your Sovereignty You are working out Your Perfect Purpose for our lives and for not trusting that You are always an ‘On Time God’
Help us to continue to trust you even when the way ahead is not clear and it seems as if our life has been put on hold. Help us to know that when all is ready you will intervene to your glory and our benefit. We pray all this in our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ’s Name
AMEN
