Embracing Life's Detours: Trusting God's Plan
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "You see, many times, we think that shortcuts should be shorter. But in God's economy, shortcuts are actually longer. Because how would you save the world from starvation? Have a young man sold into slavery, be accused of something that's not right? How would you save the world from starvation? Be sent to prison and continue to lead and continue to rely on God and to become humble and become faithful. So that way, when that day comes, he could speak wisdom to the most powerful man on the face of the earth at that time." [36:20]
2. "So as we're kind of wrapping up, let's maybe think, have these three thoughts in our minds that we can take and we can apply to our daily lives. Because I don't know about you, I've been in the church for a really long time. I've read Joseph. I've seen Joseph. I've seen the movies, all the movies. That are made by, you know, Disney and all the other filmmakers. I didn't really love the story. But maybe, what can I take out with me on Tuesday when I get a call and it says this? And I start entering into a detour. What can I take and have inside me? Well, number three, number one, I should say, number one is pray for God's perspective." [39:40]
3. "So when we go through, we've got to keep moving forward. In the midst of the detour, we have to adapt and we have to change and we have to see things from a new place, a new perspective, God's perspective. And we need to stop thinking common and we need to start thinking uncommonly. To do that, we have to ask the right questions. Don't ask why this detour. Please, don't ask. I have spent too many years and too many prayers crying and asking why. I can tell you there's no answer. You see, asking the question why keeps my eyes on me." [41:15]
4. "So when we are on a detour, we need to gain a new perspective. We need to reframe this detour. We need to see it from a different angle, not from our own limited angle, but we need to see it from a different angle. We need to think and remember, is God, is this a detour for God, from God? And the answer is, yes. Because God wastes nothing. We have to remember that in order to reframe a detour, I believe we have to remember that God wastes nothing. All the good times in your life, all the pain in your life, all the suffering in your life, all the memories that you have, all the experiences, all the talents, all the skills that you have, God doesn't waste any of that." [30:12]
5. "So maybe the first question that we could ask is, God, what are you developing in me? What are you, this detour, what do you want me to develop, God? Because Joseph starts out with an, he's an entitled young man who is so prideful that no one wants to follow this guy. His own brothers want to kill him. No one wants to follow him. But yet at the end of the story, we learn that God has transformed Joseph to a humble leader, faithful leader, that the nation, the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, follows and listens to him and saves the world from starvation." [33:17]
### Quotes for Members
1. "So, when you're sold into slavery by your brothers, he has a tendency to humble you, The third question that we might ask God is, what are you providing for me a shortcut? Now, God's shortcuts looks a lot different than the shortcuts we see on the road. God's shortcuts many times looks like a detour and it's a long detour. Like I said, I've been on a detour for 22 years now. I don't think I'll ever get off this detour because I always want to be available for what God wants me to do. If the detour says to go this way, I'll go this way. If it says to go this way, I'll go this way." [34:49]
2. "So, how do we process this chapter of Joseph's life? How should we approach this as we read this? Well, I think it's a wonderful narrative. I love the story of Joseph. Anybody else? I just love the story, love how God works. Even though, as you notice, as we've read most of the chapter, it talks nothing about God. It talks about Joseph, it talks about his brothers, it talks about slave traders, it talks about all this other stuff. It doesn't talk anything about God, but yet God is all over that story." [25:30]
3. "So, Joseph could have processed this detour with this. He could have felt shame. He could have felt shame. This is what I've done. This is what I did. This is what I'm getting. This is what I deserve. We see that all the time, don't we? We see that all the time. We have people in our community, people in our church that have done and said different things. I have done and I have said different things that have led me into a detour of my own making, and I thought, man, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that and felt the shame because of that. We see this all the time." [26:58]
4. "But instead, the uncommon question would be, what? What's the purpose of this detour? You see, asking what is future-focused, not past-focused. Why is always looking for something, someone or something to blame because of the detour? What is, okay, God, where are we going? What do you want to do? It's God-focused. This keeps God's purpose in the forefront of our minds when we ask, what is God doing? Not why is this happening? You see, God's purpose in the detours of our lives is so that way we would be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. And God does this through detours." [44:40]
5. "He had this beautiful robe that was multicolored, this coat of many colors. And he received that because his dad said, you're my favorite son. I love you the best. So he gives him this. Of course, the other brother said, that's not fair. We don't like that. We hate you because of that. And then Joseph starts having these dreams about people bowing down to him. And he says, and then, of course, that made his brothers mad because he was the youngest of them all. So he said, you guys, the older guys are going to be bowing down to me. So they hated him because of these two things." [17:06]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "You see, many times, we think that shortcuts should be shorter. But in God's economy, shortcuts are actually longer. Because how would you save the world from starvation? Have a young man sold into slavery, be accused of something that's not right? How would you save the world from starvation? Be sent to prison and continue to lead and continue to rely on God and to become humble and become faithful. So that way, when that day comes, he could speak wisdom to the most powerful man on the face of the earth at that time." [36:20]
2. "So as we're kind of wrapping up, let's maybe think, have these three thoughts in our minds that we can take and we can apply to our daily lives. Because I don't know about you, I've been in the church for a really long time. I've read Joseph. I've seen Joseph. I've seen the movies, all the movies. That are made by, you know, Disney and all the other filmmakers. I didn't really love the story. But maybe, what can I take out with me on Tuesday when I get a call and it says this? And I start entering into a detour. What can I take and have inside me? Well, number three, number one, I should say, number one is pray for God's perspective." [39:40]
3. "So when we go through, we've got to keep moving forward. In the midst of the detour, we have to adapt and we have to change and we have to see things from a new place, a new perspective, God's perspective. And we need to stop thinking common and we need to start thinking uncommonly. To do that, we have to ask the right questions. Don't ask why this detour. Please, don't ask. I have spent too many years and too many prayers crying and asking why. I can tell you there's no answer. You see, asking the question why keeps my eyes on me." [41:15]
4. "So when we are on a detour, we need to gain a new perspective. We need to reframe this detour. We need to see it from a different angle, not from our own limited angle, but we need to see it from a different angle. We need to think and remember, is God, is this a detour for God, from God? And the answer is, yes. Because God wastes nothing. We have to remember that in order to reframe a detour, I believe we have to remember that God wastes nothing. All the good times in your life, all the pain in your life, all the suffering in your life, all the memories that you have, all the experiences, all the talents, all the skills that you have, God doesn't waste any of that." [30:12]
5. "So maybe the first question that we could ask is, God, what are you developing in me? What are you, this detour, what do you want me to develop, God? Because Joseph starts out with an, he's an entitled young man who is so prideful that no one wants to follow this guy. His own brothers want to kill him. No one wants to follow him. But yet at the end of the story, we learn that God has transformed Joseph to a humble leader, faithful leader, that the nation, the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, follows and listens to him and saves the world from starvation." [33:17]
### Quotes for Members
1. "So, when you're sold into slavery by your brothers, he has a tendency to humble you, The third question that we might ask God is, what are you providing for me a shortcut? Now, God's shortcuts looks a lot different than the shortcuts we see on the road. God's shortcuts many times looks like a detour and it's a long detour. Like I said, I've been on a detour for 22 years now. I don't think I'll ever get off this detour because I always want to be available for what God wants me to do. If the detour says to go this way, I'll go this way. If it says to go this way, I'll go this way." [34:49]
2. "So, how do we process this chapter of Joseph's life? How should we approach this as we read this? Well, I think it's a wonderful narrative. I love the story of Joseph. Anybody else? I just love the story, love how God works. Even though, as you notice, as we've read most of the chapter, it talks nothing about God. It talks about Joseph, it talks about his brothers, it talks about slave traders, it talks about all this other stuff. It doesn't talk anything about God, but yet God is all over that story." [25:30]
3. "So, Joseph could have processed this detour with this. He could have felt shame. He could have felt shame. This is what I've done. This is what I did. This is what I'm getting. This is what I deserve. We see that all the time, don't we? We see that all the time. We have people in our community, people in our church that have done and said different things. I have done and I have said different things that have led me into a detour of my own making, and I thought, man, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that and felt the shame because of that. We see this all the time." [26:58]
4. "But instead, the uncommon question would be, what? What's the purpose of this detour? You see, asking what is future-focused, not past-focused. Why is always looking for something, someone or something to blame because of the detour? What is, okay, God, where are we going? What do you want to do? It's God-focused. This keeps God's purpose in the forefront of our minds when we ask, what is God doing? Not why is this happening? You see, God's purpose in the detours of our lives is so that way we would be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. And God does this through detours." [44:40]
5. "He had this beautiful robe that was multicolored, this coat of many colors. And he received that because his dad said, you're my favorite son. I love you the best. So he gives him this. Of course, the other brother said, that's not fair. We don't like that. We hate you because of that. And then Joseph starts having these dreams about people bowing down to him. And he says, and then, of course, that made his brothers mad because he was the youngest of them all. So he said, you guys, the older guys are going to be bowing down to me. So they hated him because of these two things." [17:06]
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