God, Do A Work In Me And Through Me | 9/20/26 | 7:00 | Victory Chapel Bridgeport | Ps Guzman

Genesis 39 opens with Joseph being taken down to Egypt, but the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph did not choose the pit, the betrayal of his brothers, slavery, or a foreign land. Yet God’s Word refuses to define Joseph only by what happened to him. Joseph was taken down, but God did not leave him.

The bristlecone pine gives a picture of this kind of life. The tree grows on rocky ground, in severe cold, and under heavy winds. Its twisted trunk shows that it has been through something, but it is still standing, still growing, and still alive. Difficulty does not always mean growth has stopped. God often does deep work in seasons that people never would have chosen.

The Lord’s presence cannot be measured by comfortable circumstances. Psalm 23 places God with David in the valley of the shadow of death. Isaiah declares that God is present in the waters and rivers that feel overwhelming. A difficult place is not a God forsaken place. Egypt did not mean God abandoned Joseph, and a painful season does not prove that God has walked away.

God worked in Joseph before His work could be seen through Joseph. Joseph became a successful man because the Lord was with him. God was building character, endurance, faithfulness, and obedience in Potiphar’s house before Joseph ever stood in the palace. Pressure exposes what is lacking, but it can also become the place where God develops what is missing. Testing gives endurance room to grow, and endurance develops strength of character.

Potiphar eventually saw that the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph did not need to announce God’s presence because his life gave evidence of it. Joseph’s refusal to sin with Potiphar’s wife showed that he feared God even when nobody else seemed to be watching. Hidden obedience, especially in lonely and difficult seasons, sends roots deep into God.

The seed does not bear fruit the day it enters the ground. Roots grow beneath the surface, trunks become strong, and branches develop before fruit appears. God strengthens hearts, couples, and foundations of truth so that future fruit can remain. What God does in secret eventually becomes visible through the way His people live.

God calls His people not only to ask what He is doing around them, but what He desires to do in them. God can use a harsh season to make faith stronger, obedience deeper, and influence greater. God does a work in His people so that He can do a work through them, and even the unsaved can see that the Lord is with them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God remains present in the valley [36:47] The valley does not cancel God’s presence. David could say, “I will fear no evil,” not because the valley disappeared, but because God was with him in it. Difficult circumstances can change quickly, but God’s faithfulness does not shift with them. Faith learns to look for God in the place that feels most overwhelming. [36:47]
• 2. Pressure can form godly character [46:26] Pressure reveals weak places, but God does not reveal them to shame His people. God uses testing to develop endurance, maturity, and strength of character. Joseph was being formed in Potiphar’s house for responsibilities that had not yet come. The difficult season may be preparing a person for what God has next. [46:26]
• 3. Hidden roots come before lasting fruit [52:14] The absence of visible fruit does not mean the absence of growth. God often works below the surface, strengthening spiritual roots through faithful choices, prayer, and obedience. A tree must be strong enough to hold the fruit it will bear. God’s hidden work keeps future fruit from becoming a burden that crushes a weak foundation. [52:14]
• 4. Righteousness reveals God’s presence [55:34] Joseph honored God when compromise would have been easy and hidden. His question was not whether he could get away with sin, but how he could commit wickedness before God. Obedience in secret makes God’s work visible in public. A life that fears God under pressure gives others a reason to see that something is different. [55:34]
• 5. God works in and through hardship [57:59] God’s people can ask Him to change their circumstances, but they should also ask what He wants to form within them. God was already working in Joseph before Potiphar saw anything. Hard seasons are not wasted when they produce deeper faithfulness. God’s work in a life becomes His work through that life to touch others.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [26:44] - The Bristlecone Pine Picture
• [29:22] - Joseph Taken Down to Egypt
• [34:15] - The Lord Was With Joseph
• [36:47] - God Is Present in the Valley
• [40:49] - A Difficult Place Is Not God Forsaken
• [43:27] - God Works in a Life First
• [46:26] - Testing Produces Endurance
• [49:06] - Potiphar Saw God’s Hand
• [51:15] - Joseph Chose Righteousness
• [52:14] - Roots Before Fruit
• [57:28] - Ask What God Is Doing Within
• [60:14] - God Works Through Difficult Seasons
• [62:40] - Call to Salvation and Response

Bible Reading

Genesis 39:1-3
“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” [30:42]

Psalm 23:4
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” [36:47]

Isaiah 43:2
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” [39:37]

Observation questions

1. What losses and changes had Joseph experienced by the time he arrived in Potiphar’s house, according to Genesis 39:1?
2. What repeated truth in Genesis 39:2-3 changes the way Joseph’s difficult circumstances should be viewed? [34:15]
3. What did Potiphar notice about Joseph, and what did he connect Joseph’s success to?
4. In Psalm 23:4 and Isaiah 43:2, what kinds of difficult places are named, and what does God promise in each one? [39:37]

Interpretation questions

1. Why is it important that Genesis 39 says Joseph was “taken down to Egypt” but also says that “the LORD was with Joseph”? What does this show about hardship and God’s presence? [34:15]
2. What does it mean that God was working in Joseph before Potiphar could see the results through Joseph’s life? [43:27]
3. Joseph’s faithfulness eventually became visible to Potiphar. What kinds of attitudes, choices, and habits can make God’s work in a believer visible to others? [49:24]
4. Joseph refused temptation because he understood that sin was ultimately against God. How does remembering God’s presence change the way a believer responds to private temptation? [55:34]

Application questions

1. Is there a difficult season, disappointment, or change in life that has made it hard to believe God is near? How can Genesis 39:2, Psalm 23:4, or Isaiah 43:2 shape the way that situation is faced this week? [40:49]
2. It is right to ask God to change hard circumstances, but it is also good to ask what He wants to form within a person. What might God be developing in this present season—faith, endurance, humility, obedience, or something else? [57:55]
3. Pressure often exposes weak places without being meant to shame a person. When pressure comes, what response, attitude, or pattern tends to surface? What would it look like to invite God to strengthen that area? [46:26]
4. Hidden roots grow before visible fruit appears. What faithful practices may feel unseen right now—prayer, Scripture, serving, repentance, purity, or perseverance—and how can they be continued without giving up? [52:14]
5. Joseph chose righteousness when compromise could have remained hidden. Is there a specific area where private obedience is being tested right now? What practical boundary or wise step could help honor God in that area? [58:31]
6. Potiphar saw evidence that the Lord was with Joseph. How might family members, coworkers, classmates, or neighbors see God’s work through a believer’s conduct during a hard season? [58:56]