| Summary of message Oct 4 2009 by Esther Ellis » |
Never underestimate the power of God. Do not underestimate what he can do.
I do not know why we seem to continuously doubt or question the abilities of God. To some people a person is too far “gone” to be saved…others think that their situation is too hopeless to be fixed...
In the testimonies of Jesus’ life we see all of the miraculous things he did for people whose situation seemed hopeless. Not to mention the thousands and thousands of accounts of the mighty and powerful things God did throughout the rest of the Bible. Even in the very beginning of Genesis, we see stories of amazing things he did and the obstacles people overcame through the power of God.
“We don’t need to declare what he does bad,” said Mr. Dennis last Sunday. “Be careful what we call bad because God uses that for good. Is it bad, or just uncomfortable?”
Last Sunday we had the opportunity to hear Mr. Dennis speak. He spoke about Joseph and started by explaining some of the obstacles he went through and how God used those for good. The main part of his teaching was about forgiveness, but I want to focus on the previous thought.
This sparked my interest, as I had not read Joseph in a long time, so I went back and read through it. It was quite crazy to see all of the things he had to go through. His brothers hated him and thought of killing him. Instead they sold him into slavery for 20 shekels (the equivalent of $5.30 today) and faked his death to his father, he was sold again to work for one of the Pharaoh’s officials and when his wife wanted to sleep with him and Joseph refused, she lied about him to her husband and Joseph was put in jail. He was there for over two years. He was released when Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream about great wealth and great famine and was given rule over all of the land. He was considered almost an equal to the Pharaoh and he eventually saw his brothers and father again.
One passage says mostly everything I would like to:
“’I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’”
Genesis 45:4-7
It’s easy to say these things after the fact but harder to trust as we are going through it. God uses every situation to mold us in to what he wants us to be. God puts us in a place where we have no control hoping that we will surrender to him so he can show us the mighty things he wishes to do in our lives. He can do anything and everything and truly uses all things for the good of those who love him. If the situation wasn’t beyond our control, then we wouldn’t need God.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
All God asks of us is our trust. We must trust, believe, and have faith that he is near to us. He knows what he’s doing! He will never leave us nor forsake us. We must go to him, cast all our fears and worries on him; he knows how to handle them better than we do!
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
And so we know that in everything he can use it for good. So really, there is no point in us constantly worrying and stressing because it changes nothing. Through our hard times he molds us and shapes us. He wishes for us to press in. So, press in, persevere, and give it up to him…that’s all we can really do.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 & 8
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