Don't Limit God

He was betrayed by his brothers. They had actually intended to kill him. But instead he was thrown into a pit.

Wouldn't you agree with me that he was at rock bottom? No not quite yet.

He was then sold away as a slave to a foreign land.

A slave has nothing. No money. No freedom. No nothing. Everything he is belongs to someone else.

Wouldn't you agree with me that he was now at rock bottom? No not quite yet.

He was eventually bought by a tough military man. Then he was framed for a crime he did not commit and sent away to prison as a sexual predator.

Betrayed, then destitute, then enslaved, then framed, now incaserated.

Surely he was now at rock bottom? No not quite yet.

He found favour in the eyes of the warden of the prison, who committed the other prisoners to his charge. Soon afterward two men of position in government, having offended the ruler of the land, were thrown into the prison. One morning both officers told him their dreams of the previous night, which they were unable to interpret, and he told them that one would be reinstated within three days but that the other would be hanged. He requested the one who would be freed to mention him to the ruler and secure his release from prison, but that man, reinstalled in office, forgot him.

Betrayed, then destitute, then enslaved, then framed, then incaserated . . .now forgotten.

If you were him, you wouldn't be blamed for feeling jaded and bitter. Any hopes for a good life were finished. It appeared that experience had shown that he was cursed—any good in his life seemed to be destroyed by subsequent disaster. He was trapped in a cycle of failure. Doomed
to a life of dissapointment and suffering.

No not quite!

Yes, I have been describing the life of Joseph in the Bible. We know how his life turned out after that.

Two years later the same man who had been freed and reinstated to the court of Pharoh remembered Joseph's gift at a time when Pharoh had a dream he could not interpret, neither could he find an interpretation from the diviners in the land. Joseph eventually interpreted Pharoh's dream and was made into the Prime Minister of all Egypt -- the second most powerful man in the land!

Gen 41: 38 - 46 (NIV)
38 So Pharaoh asked them, Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to you, there is no-one so discerning and wise as you.
40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, Make way! Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, but without your word no-one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.
45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and travelled throughout Egypt.

In the natural, if we were with Joseph up to the point he was made Prime Minister, we would have had no points of reference to predict the incredible final outcome of his life.

It's the same for our lives today. The point of reference for God's promises in our lives should be the person of Jesus himself and His ability.

Not our experiences.

Hebrews 11:11 (NIV)
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

It may look like your darkest hour. But that is irrelevant to whether God is able to deliver you.

He who has spoken is faithful and able to perform His word in your life!

Look beyond the natural.

Look beyond past experiences.

Look beyond your own goodness.

Look beyond how bad the situation is.

Look at Him who is faithful who had made the promise and don't limit God.