Heroes of the Faith, Part 2预览

Trust In God

Hero: Joseph - Genesis 50:19-20 Hebrews 11:22

Theme Verse: Galatians 6:9

Jacob, who we learned about last week, had 12 sons. Jacob’s favorite son was Joseph, and he gave Joseph a fancy coat. Meanwhile, Joseph had dreams where he would rule them all, and his brothers hated him so much that they planned to kill him! Instead, they sold him into slavery. Often, Christians think that God’s Blessing will keep anything bad from happening to us. But God uses hard times to prepare us for His Plan, and we can trust Him.

Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the Captain of The Guard in Egypt. Instead of moping, Joseph trusted God, did his best, and was put in charge of all Potiphar’s house! Potiphar’s wife liked Joseph and wanted to sleep with him. Joseph feared God and didn’t want to do wrong. If someone always tempts you to do wrong, do what Joseph did: refuse even to be in the same room with that person. Though Joseph did no wrong, Potiphar's wife falsely accused him, and he was unfairly thrown into prison!

Joseph trusted God, and God blessed him so that he ran the whole prison! Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer went to prison, and one night they each had a dream. Joseph trusted that God would give him the interpretation. The baker died, and the cupbearer was given back his position, just like Joseph said. But the cupbearer forgot Joseph! Unfair again!

Pharaoh had a dream two years later, and the cupbearer remembered Joseph. Joseph practiced trusting God, and he trusted God in front of the Pharaoh. The interpretation was that there would be plenty of grain for seven years, then a terrible famine for seven years. Then, after his 13 years of slavery and prison, Pharaoh made Joseph Prime Minister of Egypt! God had trained Joseph to run the country well, not for Joseph’s benefit but to save everyone.

The famine was so bad that people everywhere, including Joseph’s family, were hungry. The same brothers who sold Joseph into slavery needed Joseph to save them with grain!

But the brothers didn’t recognize him, and Joseph tested them to see if they had changed. Then Joseph forgave his brothers and gave them the best land in the country. When we trust God, we can forgive others and treat them kindly.

Like Joseph, Jesus was treated unfairly. He was falsely accused though He did no wrong. Then Jesus was killed on the Cross! Like Joseph, He trusted His Father God through it all. Joseph became the Prime Minister, but Jesus became the King of the whole Universe! God asks us to trust Him through the hard times and promises to go through it all with us. Scripture says that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Will you allow God to use hard times to prepare you for whatever He has in mind?

I choose to trust God with my life, even when things get hard.

Questions:

1. Are there things God cannot do?

2. Why does God allow bad things to happen to us?

Application to Life:

Your assignment this week is to forgive people. All of us have experienced being mistreated. We can become angry about that and want revenge, or we can choose to forgive and trust God. Whenever you think of how someone hurt you this week, think, “I forgive them.” You don’t have to say it to the person, but you can say it out loud even when you are alone. That releases you from the anger you have, and you can be happy again. You are also like your Heavenly Father, God, because He forgives all of us. The more you forgive people, the freer you will feel.