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From touchandchange.com Bible Studies Explaining the Unexplainable! RISK: Embracing Uncertainty (Part 2) Genesis 50:15-26
These notes are a copy of the notes that Jeff Dixon used in the Celebration Worship Event with the same title. This outline is an excellent resource to print out and follow along with as you watch or listen to the celebration worship experience....
A quick rewind, reconnect, and review.... So far we have discovered that risk takers will Defy the odds and Reframe their problems…..and if you have decided to do those two things, then you are poised to take the next step...that step is....(drum roll please)
Embracing uncertainty!
This far we have asked the folllowing questions...
Why do some people handle the unknown better than others?Because they are certain of God They know that God knows
They don’t need explanations for every disappointment because they know that God has a plan
What causes us to bungle facing the unknown?We focus our energies on telling God exactly What to do, How to do it, and When to do it!
In fact, we repeat ourselves over and over again just to make sure that God didn’t miss out on any of the important details we wanted to tell Him.
When does the unknown usually occur?You just don’t know…hence the name unknown
How do you prepare to embrace the unknown?A Life of faith and following God Faith does not reduce uncertainty…faith helps you embrace it!
A relationship with God doesn’t simplify your lives It complicates your life in ways that it needs to be complicated A relationship with God brings a complication to life in way that it needs to be complicated.
That was all in part one, lets move into new stuff in part two of this study
I cannot promise that being a Christ follower will reduce uncertainty in your life Jesus was and is predictably unpredictable
A quick read of the Gospels finds Jesus doing the unexpected over and over again
His followers learned that uncertainty was the norm when following Jesus There is a part of us that wants God to takes us to a three act play We want a clearly defined beginning, middle, and ending Instead Jesus takes us to the Improv instead
We have to develop a like for uncertainty and learn to enjoy the journey
The great banana peel of existence is always on the floor somewhere
Life unfolds There are lots of different explanations for every experience You can’t control your experiences BUT you can control your explanations Explanations are more important than the experiences
How do you begin to explain the unexplainable?
Embrace Uncertainty as Life Unfolds (15-17a) When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.'
The story of Joseph In some ways it is tragic! As a teenager his brother faked his death and sold him into slavery (That would cause enough psychotherapy to last a lifetime for most)
But not him, it was just the tip of the iceberg
Potiphars wife tried to hit on Joseph He resisted and then she lied He ended up in prison… He was in an Egyptian prison for attempted rape
But Joseph never lost faith, because his faith had nothing to do with his circumstances
In what has to be one of the most bizarre moves to rise into political power Joe interprets a dream and went from Prisoner to Prime Minister of Egypt and he was from Israel
For 13 years his life had been a roller coaster and out of control it appeared
Joseph could have come up with any number of explanations for his life experiences
God as forsaken me God has forgotten me God has given up on me
But he didn't use any of those explanations!
At age 30 he became prime minister and for the next 80 years God did some amazing things with him
Embrace Uncertainty in the Land Fill of Life (v.19-20a) But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good
He looks in the rearview mirror and reflects on all the dysfunction, the betryal, the injustice, and the pain
The one verse summarizes the explanations that Joseph had He could see the purpose of God in his life experience
Did he always? No…but he didn’t doubt there was a plan
Everyone has a path littered with the debris of dysfunction and disappointment We been misjudged or misled
Embrace Uncertainty in the Reality of Living (v.20-21) You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Spiritual whiplash
At some point we all run into reality Usually it happens when we are racing at the speed of life and not wearing a safety belt
This is the moment(s) when.... Simple answers aren’t sufficient God doesn’t fit into the nice neat box
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Can you believe that God is still in charge? If you can, then you can embrace uncertainty…as a real part of living life (It is whether you can embrace it or not) So the real question is … Are you ready to embrace it?
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