When You Don't See It Coming
Chris Seidman
Part of Where Do We Go From Here?
January 31, 2021

Where Do We Go From Here?

When You Don’t See It Coming
January 31, 2021
Chris Seidman, Sr. Minister


Genesis 39:2a (NIV)
The Lord was with Joseph … .


Genesis 39:2-5 (NIV)
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned … . The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had both in the house and in the field.


Genesis 39:8-10 (NIV)
“With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.


Genesis 40:8 (NIV)
“Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”


Genesis 41:16 (NIV)
“I cannot do it … but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”


Genesis 45:1-8 (NIV)
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “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 be no 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. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.”


Genesis 50:18-21 (NIV)
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

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 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.


Nehemiah 13:2 (NIV)
(Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.)

Distinguishing Things In Each Story

  • In the first story involving his brothers, he was forgiving!

  • In the second story involving Potiphar’s wife, he was faithful!

  • In the third story involving his imprisonment, he was fruitful!


Genesis 41:52 (NIV)
God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.

Communion

  • Think about someone you know whose long-ago decision had a positive impact on your life.

  • Are you facing something right now that you didn’t see coming, and now you have to make a decision? Take a moment and lift it up to the Lord.