Pain & Promise

Genesis 41:38-44

Prayer & Subject

Background Information

Pain

Pain is something that we have all experienced but may find difficult to explain

The National Institute of Health currently accepts two categories of pain;

Physical Pain

The result of physical trauma or injury that your brain registers as pain

Often results in reflexive reaction to recoil from source of pain

The pain of cutting yourself when cutting up vegetables

The pain of burning your hand on the bowl from the microwave

Your body will preserve itself at all costs

Psychological Pain

The mental turmoil from feelings of guilt, fear, loneliness and helplessness

Often a result of traumatic events/ or experiences causing internal conflict

The fear of being called into your boss’ office when downsizing

The guilt of hiding a new sickness from your loved ones

Your brain fights to create an identity from your experience

Pain, whether physical or psychological, occurs as a result of trauma

But the pain itself can be traumatic because it’s potential for long-lasting impact

Car accidents cause you pain, but they can cause long lasting scars

Burns from the airbag, lacerations on your leg, never go away

The pain is over, but you have reminders of when it was there

Having abusive parents is painful but the memory can make you angry

The fear of when it will happen again, the guilt of feeling at fault

The abuse is over, but sometimes you wake up at night and see the abusers face on your husband and get angry

Pain can leave a burning reminder of the things you have endured, long after it is over

That is why we must learn to let go of past hurts

Because nothing you do, can erase that painful experience

All you can do is learn from it and grow out of it

This leads me to promise…

Promise

One definition of promise, is it is a guarantee someone makes that something will occur

Anyone can make a promise to you

But the value of the promise is based on the relationship that person has with you

Your first experience with promises happens as a child;

As a child you are conditioned by your dependency to trust people

You are unable to do a great many things for yourself

Therefore, you trust the people around you to supply your needs

And it is good when children are raised in that dynamic

It allows them to actually be children

But now, so many children are exposed to the harshness of life at an early age

They are born into broken homes with absent fathers

And cope with feeling like it was their fault they left

They try to learn how to behave in a world that abandoned them

And repeat the mistakes of the past because no one teaches them

They hear negative things about themselves on the news

And they start to become what they hear daily (Thugs, Broke, etc)

Children are entering a world full of pain from the broken promises of generations

Promises from parents to love them unconditionally

Promises from communities to care for them as they grow older

Promises from political leaders to provide better education and healthcare

But increasingly, people make empty promises they do not mean and cannot keep

So, what about your broken promises?

Pain & Promise

As you age, you eventually condition yourself not to depend on people

People can only lie to you so many times before you stop believing them

People can only break some many promises before you stop taking them

People can only abuse you so many times before you begin to fight back

What did people promise you and then they left you to deal with the pain

The pain of an absent father

The pain of betrayal by friends

The lies of coworkers

In each case, it is those who are closest to you who inflict the most pain

Because, people are good at hurting other people

But at least in these situations you can turn to somebody else

When your dad leaves, you have momma

When friends betray you, you have family

When coworkers lie on you, you have supervisors

And when all else fails, you can turn to God

BUT! What do you do when God’s promise only looks like pain?

What do you do when the hand you have been dealt contradicts the God you know?

We call him a provider, but what do you do when you are hungry

We call him a healer, but what do you do when you are sick

We call him protector, but what do you do when you are in trouble

What do you do when it looks like God lied to you?

Somebody has been there;

When God seems to disappear in your problem

When his words seem to be made impotent by your situation

When his strength, which is made perfect in weakness, is not there

You have had situations in your own life

God promised you a promotion and you get fired

God promised you a husband and your fiancée calls it off

God promised you a house and you just got served eviction papers

God promised you a child and you have a miscarriage

Encouraging scriptures sound good when you are walking in your promise

He who hath begun a good work in you, faithful to perform it

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high, shall abide…

He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think…

But I ask you the question, what do you do when you are facing the Pain of your Promise?

It is in this question that we find my text...

Genesis 41

The path to your promise is paved with pain in preparing to receive his promise

Pharaoh has made him governor over the land of Egypt and its affairs

He has made the entire nation subject to Joseph’s will

He has become the heir to his own promise, after much trial and tribulation

It was only after the pain of betrayal and deceit that he could enter his promise

There is a price to be paid for your promise

The betrayal of his brothers gave him the humility to serve Potiphar

His servanthood in Potiphar’s house prepared him to manage the Kingdom

The deceit of Potiphar’s wife gave him the wisdom to navigate kingdom politics

His time served in the jail gave him the vision to lead people

Your promise can get you into places that your character is not prepared for

So many people in God’s house, run with a promise, and do none of the work

You open churches without a covering

You start businesses without knowing management

You get married without seeking counsel

Just because God promised it does not mean you are ready to receive

And that is why he sends us through painful situations

He must unmake who you were, to create who you are supposed to be

He uses the pains and traumas of life to make you ready to receive your promise

Conclusion

So, I am here to encourage you, in the midst of your pain

Be not dismayed whatever betide you… God will, take care of you

For all things, work together for the Good of them who love the Lord

In the midst of your pain, he is still God

No matter how sad it may look, he is still God

No matter how broke you are, he is still God

No matter who left you, he is still God

He is using the pain of your life to turn you into who he intended you to be

God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of Man, that he shall repent

God has not abandoned you but he trying to teach you, so you can get to your promise

And I want to encourage you… MORE PAIN = MORE PROMISE

No matter what… Keep Moving Forward

When you feel like crying…. FORWARD

When you feel like giving up…. FORWARD

No money in your pocket…. FORWARD

Sickness in your body…. FORWARD

You have to press on

Press through the heartache

Press through challenges

Press through the pain

Because GOD IS USING YOUR PAIN TO BRING YOU PROMISE

It may not look like it, but your promise is on its way

More money, is on its way

Freedom, is on its way

Safety, is on its way

Deliverance, is on its way

Healing, is on its way

Pain…. Is the pathway to your promise