Help Wanted: Suffering

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Introduction

Today, we’ll be talking about how God can help us overcome when we face difficulty and suffering.

Life can be hard—even painful at times. Today we’ll see how God gives His people strength to overcome.

Group Activity

Let’s start with a fun challenge! For this activity, you’ll be a part of a team. Each team will get a raw egg. You’ll have five minutes to build a protective structure with the materials I’ve provided. The goal is to keep your raw egg from breaking when I drop it to the ground. So, build your structure to allow the egg to land safely intact.

Set your timer, and give the groups four minutes to complete their structures.

When time is up, call on the groups to bring you the eggs.

Stand on the latter, and drop the eggs one by one onto the tarp.

Declare the winner or winners.

What kind of materials seemed to work the best for protecting the eggs?

Sometimes when we go through a difficult time, it may feel like we’re being dropped just like these eggs.

You and I may wonder if God is aware of our situation. Will He protect us in our suffering? Is there purpose in the suffering?

We hear God has a perfect plan for our life. But how do suffering and difficulty play into His plan?

Today, we’ll look at a story in the first book in the Bible: Genesis.

The story tells about when God was with a young man named Joseph through a difficult time of suffering.

God’s Plan Doesn’t Always Prevent Suffering

God often prepares us for difficult times, even if we don’t initially recognize it.

Though God doesn’t cause the bad things we may face, He does strengthen us through them.

Genesis 37:1–11 (NIV)

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph was already disliked by his brothers for being his dad’s favorite kid.

Then God gave Joseph dreams that showed big things for his future. These dreams made his brothers very jealous of him.

Explain a time you shared something with others that you later regretted saying.

Joseph’s brothers hated him all the more for the dreams he told them about. Plus, they were jealous of the attention Joseph received from his dad. This led to some additional suffering.

Have you ever been jealous because someone received something you wished you had? How did it affect you?

Tell a story about how I went through suffering but because God was there with me we were able to make it though

God Is with Us When We Suffer

Sometimes we bring on our own suffering in our life.

It’s possible that this happened when Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers. Other times, suffering happens to us regardless of what we do.

Genesis 37:18–28 (NIV)

But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own family.

That’s an extremely difficult situation for anyone to be in.

And as bad as that is, it was a kind alternative compared to their first plans.

Just a reminder. Don’t try any of these at home, no matter how frustrated you get with your family!

Do you think that Joseph’s brothers would have plotted to harm him if he hadn’t shared his dreams with them?

Even though he probably felt angry and very lonely, Joseph wasn’t alone. God was with him.

While Joseph was experiencing a hard time, God’s plan was still in motion.

Those Who Love Us Suffer When We Suffer

At times, we can feel completely isolated when experiencing hard times.

The truth is, others may be hurting with us even if we don’t know it.

Genesis 37:29–36 (NIV)

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

In those moments of suffering it can feel like God has forgotten us or isn't around

Often, the more we believe God is with us, the more we realize He protects us and helps us when we’re suffering.

Unfortunately, many people let the opposite happen—allowing their suffering to skew their view of God.

Though it’s tempting to question God in our moments of suffering, it’s these moments that give us some of the greatest opportunities to build our trust in Him.

Our faith can grow in the face of difficulty

God Helps Me with Suffering

God doesn’t waste suffering.

Sometimes bad things happen to us and to those around us, but God never leaves us.

He gives us the strength needed to overcome. And even if things work out for the worst in this world, God has the power to help us overcome through eternal life with Him!

God is bigger than anything we face, no matter how big the situation may feel.

While God may not cause our suffering, He uses it to shape our life.

Pain and suffering are never fun, but God can use them to shape us into the person we were created to be.

ENDING

We will take some time and pray for the suffering that we may be going through.

Suffering doesn't have to be dramatic as it sounds.

one thing that is a pet peeve of mine is when people mitagate others pain or trials due to their own.

This should be our prayer

God help me with this thing that I am going through, strengthen my shoulders to bear this weight.

As you reflect on what we learned today, ask God for the Holy Spirit to remind you of His presence when bad things happen.

God’s love for us never changes, even when we’re hurting.

God hurts when we hurt. His promise for us is that He never leaves us.

Just as God helps us in hard times, we can help others in their own hard times too.

Support from others is also very helpful during suffering.

Most likely, each of us has something we’re facing right now that’s challenging. Let’s get in groups of two to three people to pray for and encourage each other. Let the others in your group know you’re here to support them.

Conclusion

Life can be very hard, but the truth is that God is bigger than anything we face.

He is with us through His Holy Spirit within us. We may be tempted to believe that God’s plan has been interrupted when we walk through hardship.

But He uses suffering to make us into who He is calling us to be. Walking with God, as Joseph did, lets Him help us overcome!

Don’t forget to jump into the personal devotions.

These allow you to spend time in God’s Word and continue growing in your relationship with Him.

End in Prayer