When life doesn't make sense, God can be trusted.

What?

Activity | The Blob

Select two students to be “it.” Two students will chase everyone around with the goal of adding as many people as possible to their blobs. Everyone who is tagged must join arms with the person who tagged them and join the “its” on their quest to add everyone to their blobs. But just before the final students are tagged, change the rules unexpectedly.

Story | Tell a funny story about a time when you were confused.

What’s something you find confusing? What’s so hard to understand about it?

Story | Talk about a time when you were confused by a painful time in your life.

Have you ever experienced something that was both painful and confusing? Maybe a close friend no longer wanted to hang out with you. Maybe a family member left, or got sick, or hurt you. or passed away. Maybe you had to move or change schools. Maybe you were unfairly accused of something you didn’t do.

Do you think we can always make sense of the difficult or painful things we experience? Why or why not?

Have you ever struggled to make sense of a painful situation in your life?

Sometimes life doesn’t make sense

Life isn't always going to make sense. We're going to experience hurt that we didn't expect, and that we can't make sense of. 

Sometimes life is going to be painful. Sometimes we're going to ask questions like, "Why me? Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Where is God?" 

I don't know if you've ever felt like life doesn't make sense. Maybe you have — maybe you're experiencing it right now. Or maybe you haven't — maybe your life has always been pretty good. If you're tempted to tune out because you're not sure this conversation applies to you, I promise you that it does.

Even if life has been good to you so far, someday it will get painful and confusing. This conversation can help prepare you for that.

Even if life is good for you right now, life is probably a challenge for someone you know. This conversation can help you love and encourage that person in the middle of their hurt.

To help us make sense of life when it doesn't make sense, I want to tell you the story of a guy named Joseph.

So What?

Joseph is an important person in the history of God's people. He is a descendant of Abraham (who God once made an important promise to) and an ancestor of Jesus. Through Joseph's family lineage, God came into the world in the form of a man. But when Joseph was alive, he had no idea how God was going to use him or his story for so many generations to come.

Genesis 37 ESV

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. 12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Genesis

Talk about a surprising turn of events! Can you imagine how painful, frightening, and confusing that must have been for Joseph?

While Joseph was sitting in that cold, dark well, I'm guessing he was asking himself some of the same questions we talked about a moment ago: "Why me? Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Where is God?"

(Sure, Joseph could have had more chill about the dream thing, but being an arrogant brat is not a good reason for your siblings to kidnap you, sell you, and stage your death.) Joseph's situation was unfair, painful, frightening, and confusing.

Fortunately, Joseph's situation was about to get temporarily better . . . but then it was going to get even worse.

Genesis 39

Genesis 39:1–20 ESV

1 Now Joseph had been brought 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. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.” 19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

Imagine how difficult and confusing this must have been for Joseph. He had already been treated unfairly and abandoned by his family. But now, as he's trying so hard to obey God and do what's right, he's unfairly accused and imprisoned. 

Imagine you're Joseph, waiting for God to do something, yet again.

You’re thrown into a well and abandoned by your siblings. God doesn't save you.

Your parents are grieving because they're sure you're dead. God doesn't fix it.

You're sold into slavery, falsely accused of a crime, and thrown into prison. God doesn't intervene.

I don't know about you, but if I were Joseph, I would be pretty angry by now. I'd be angry at my family, at Potipher, at Potipher's wife, at an unjust system of government, and at God. Joseph didn't deserve the hurt he was experiencing. It wasn't fair. It didn't make sense.

But Joseph didn't say those things. Scripture doesn't tell us what Joseph felt, or thought, or said to God during these painful and confusing moments. But here's what Scripture does tell us . . . 

Genesis 39:21–23 ESV

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

In the middle of Joseph's hurt, God was with him. When everyone else had caused him pain, God showed him kindness. When life was so difficult it didn't make sense, God redeemed what had gone wrong and used it for Joseph's good.

There is more to Joseph's story that we don't have time to cover today, but you should read it! Once again, Joseph's story would get worse before it got better, but it is pretty amazing to see the ways God continues to redeem Joseph's pain. Through Joseph's difficulty, God used Joseph to save countless lives — including the lives of his brothers.

Through Joseph's story, we learn something important about God and about our lives: life is going to hurt sometimes, but when life doesn't make sense, God can be trusted.

What aspects of Joseph’s story could you must relate to and why?

If you were in Joseph’s position, in what ways do you think you would have responded differently?

On a scale of 1-5, how much do you trust God? Why did you choose that number?

Joseph isn't the only person in Scripture who had to trust God when life didn't make sense. After Jesus died, rose again, and left earth, Jesus' followers had their faith in God tested in significant ways. 

Because the Roman government was threatened by the message of Jesus and the new Kingdom Jesus came to announce, Jesus' followers were being captured, imprisoned, tortured, and killed. They knew Jesus had called them to share His good news all over the world, but they were being severely punished for it.

God's people were suffering without reason. They were following Jesus, doing God's will, and spreading Jesus' message of love, redemption, and salvation — so why were they suffering? It didn't make sense.

But watch what Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, says to his fellow Jesus-followers . . .

1 Peter 5:7–11 ESV

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Do you hear that? Yes you’re going to suffer, but Jesus will redeem your hurt. Through your pain, He’ll make you stronger. Trust God with your pain because He cares for you.

Now What?

Video | Derek Redmond’s Olympic Story

Derek Redmond was a popular and successful British athlete. He had broken records, won gold medals, and made history. In 1992, he was favored to win even more medals and break even more records in that year's Barcelona Summer Olympics.

But watch what happens when, just a few moments into the semi-final, life suddenly gets very difficult. 

Video

That was Derek's hamstring you saw tearing mid-race. After collapsing to the ground, he made the decision to finish his race in spite of his excruciating pain. He stood up and kept going.

And did you see what happened next? Derek's father rushed to his side. He didn't take his pain away, but he held his son close and walked alongside him to the finish line.

I don't know when, or how, life is going to get difficult for you. I don't know when, or how, life is going to stop making sense. But when it does, I hope you'll remember this image of Derek and his father.

In the middle of your pain and confusion, you can trust that . . .

God will rush to your side.

God will carry you.

God will care for you.

God will redeem your hurt to make you stronger.

God can be trusted.

Music | “Rescue,” by Lauren Daigle

As we sing this song together, here's what I want you to do:

If you're struggling to trust God right now because something in your life is painful and doesn't make sense, listen to the words of this song and imagine God is speaking these words to you right now — because I believe God is.

If you're not sure what you think about God at all, that's okay, but I'd love for you to do the same. Like we talked about last week, Jesus came to redeem what's gone wrong, both in our lives and in our own hearts. Jesus came to rescue us from so much — including our own sin.

If your life is pretty good right now and you can't really relate to any of the stories of pain you've heard today, that's okay — but I have a challenge for you. As you listen to this song, imagine you are one of the people we talked about today. Then try to listen to this song through their ears. Maybe God wants you to hear this message to prepare you for something difficult you'll face in the future. Or maybe God wants you to hear it so you can share it with someone you know who's hurting. 

No matter which of those categories you fall into, I hope this song reminds you that, no matter how much hurt or pain you experience, you are deeply loved by God, who can always be trusted.

Play “Rescue,” by Lauren Daigle

Prayer

I know life can be difficult and painful sometimes, but I hope you’ll remember that God is with you and working through all of it. No matter what you’re going through, remember, when life doesn’t make sense, God can be trusted.