The Life of Joseph ~ Willing to Wait ~ Genesis 40 Last week we saw how Joseph was a man of integrity. Unwilling to compromise or give in to temptation, he chose to honor God. We would like to think that if we honor God over falling into temptation, it will result in a positive outcome. But sometimes, honoring God over the pleasures of this world comes at a cost! Joseph refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife so she accused him of attempting to rape her and he ends up in prison! Nothing fair about that, but God doesn’t promise that this life will be fair. Rather he promises that whether it’s fair or not, in the end, it will work out for our good and His glory! That’s where we pick up today in Chapter 40. It begins with Joseph in prison, and it ends with Joseph in prison.... for doing the right thing! Does life ever seem like it’s going that way for you? You’re trying to work with integrity, but the ones that cut corners are the ones that get ahead! You’re working a 2nd job to pay off debt, but it seems like every time you get a little ahead the car breaks down, the kids get sick, something happens that empties the bank account out. You’re praying for God to move in your marriage. You’re trying to love her sacrificially like Jesus... Or you’re trying to let him lead you and your family spiritually, but he just won’t do it! It seems like nothing is going right and it’s just not getting any better! What do you do??? That’s the question and it’s an important one.... What do you do right then, and the next day, or week, or month, or year? How you wait – What you do – when you can’t see God working in your situation, it matters! Are you willing to wait for God? Let’s look and see how Joseph responds to his situation during the years he was imprisoned for doing something right! Joseph is waiting because there’s nothing else he can do... Can’t get out - No appeal process - Can’t escape. He’s gone from being a favored son to thrown in a pit & sold into slavery by his brothers. Now he’s falsely accused & stuck in an Egyptian prison where no one is looking for him! Here’s the thing -- We know the end of his story! Where Joseph says in Genesis 50:20 “You meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Try to look at Ch 40 as Joseph would have lived it... with no clue how it was going to turn out! Sometimes we’re stuck in a situation where we have no choice but to wait. *Have you ever really considered how much we wait anyway? Am I the only one that watches to see which line is moving quicker at the grocery store? I’m pretty patient when it comes to people... But I hate waiting in line, on hold, caught up in phone tree hell! We’re all waiting for something... HS – Graduation College – 1st Job Working – Buy your 1st house Waiting on the right time to get married, have a child... Waiting for your prayers to be answered... for your child to come back to the Lord... Any football fans hoping there’s going to be a real season this year? Talk about waiting!! Wall Street Journal looked at the avg. 3 hr football game... 60 min for commercials 75 minutes when the players are standing around. 17 minutes for replays. Throw in a little time for crowd shots and talking heads and you’re left with...... 11 minutes of actual football IT’S JUST LIKE LIFE! The Action of Life Is Short
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