You'll Get Through This

I. The Pit Gen. 37:23-25 NIV “So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.” Joseph’s pit came in the form of a cistern. Yours came in the form of a diagnosis, a foster home or a traumatic injury. Joseph was thrown into a hole and despised, through no fault of his own. Maybe you were thrown into an unemployment line & forgotten…a divorce & betrayed, or into a bed & abused. In the pit, life is reduced to one goal- to get out and never get hurt again. But that’s easier said than done. The Pit doesn’t have an easy way out! Maybe like Joseph, you have taken “An Unexpected Tumble”. Then this series is for you! If you or someone you love has taken an unexpected tumble into a pit, all is not lost! You are a candidate for the grace of God…He makes His grace available to those who humble themselves! Maybe like Joseph, you have received “Unfair Treatment”! **Your theme song is “Gloom, despair, and agony on me…” Gen. 42:21 NIV “We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen,..” Gen 37: 4 KJV “They hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. “ Joseph’s story got worse before it got better. Abandonment led to slavery and imprisonment. People made promises they didn’t keep, offered gifts only to take them. Yet he never gave up!! Bitterness never ruled his actions, words or attitude. Anger never boiled over into hatred. His heart didn’t harden. He not only survived, but he thrived! By the end of his life, Joseph was the most powerful man of his generation! What will God do with your trial? How will He show Himself strong through your suffering? How will He turn your setback into a setup for the miraculous? These are questions we should be asking instead of why? Why? Why? Ask…What do you want me to do Lord? Who do you want me to help? Rather than ask God to change your circumstances, ask him to use your circumstances to change you! Deut. 11:2 TEV “Remember today what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with Him.” II. The 50/20 Principle Gen. 50:20 NASB “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Joseph’s life offers this lesson: In God’s Hands intended evil becomes ultimate good! As long as we are living in this flesh and blood world, bad things are going to happen to good people. However, God specializes in turning scars into stars, and tragedy into triumph! He is at work in each of us, whether we want it , or know it. He does not relish our sufferings, but He delights in our development! Read the testimony of these verses… Job 42:2 NCV “I know that you can do all things and that no plan of yours can be ruined.” “Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.” (Ps. 115:3 NLT) “When the Lord All-Powerful makes a plan, no one can stop it.” (Is. 14:27 NCV) “All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, `What do you mean by doing these things?'” (Dan. 4:35 NLT) “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Gen.50:20 NASB) You wove evil, but God rewove it together for good. God the Master Weaver stretches the yarn and intertwines the ragged twine with the velvet strings. Pain with pleasure, until a design emerges. Stan weaves; God reweaves. ---Uncharted future Don’t see your struggle as an interruption to life, but as preparation for life! III. The Promise: God will get you through this. Deliverance is a main theme of the Bible--- It’s everywhere! Out of the lion’s den for Daniel, the prison for Peter, the whale for Jonah. God gets us through stuff. In fact, “through” is one of his favorite words—Through the Red Sea onto dry ground…Through the wilderness…through the valley of the shadow of death! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Is. 43:2 NKJV) “I’ll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. I won’t be foolish or naïve, but nor will I despair. With God’s help, I know, I will get through this."