When Things Don't Go As Planned

A priest and a rabbi from local parishes were standing by the side of the road holding up signs. The rabbi’s read, "The End is Near!" The priest, on the other side of the road, held up a sign which read, "Turn before it’s too late!" They planned to hold up their signs to each passing car. "Get a job." The first driver yelled. The second, immediately behind the first, yelled, "Leave us alone you religious freaks"! Shortly, from around the curve, they heard screeching tires and a splash followed by more screeching tires and another splash. The rabbi looked over at his companion and said, "Do you think we should try a different sign"? The priest responded, "Perhaps, ’Bridge Out’ might be better"?

Things didn’t go exactly as they planned!

How many times have you planned something…had your plans all set and things didn’t turn out quite the way you planned?

In Genesis 37-50 we find the story of Joseph - a great man of God who learned along the way this truth that things go always go the way you planned. Turn with me to Genesis 37:18-28 ...

Genesis 37:18–28 NASB95

When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it. Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

This morning let’s explore the story of Joseph: as a young boy Joseph’s dad singled him out with a tremendous amount of favoritism that didn’t set to well with 10 of his other brothers. And then Joseph had a couple of dreams that showed his brothers bowing down to him…which he joyfully shared with them…but this definitely didn’t get him any brownie points with them!

I think Joseph was probably like most of us…I imagine he probably thought about and planned what his future was going to be but there were definitely several things he never planned on…

1. EXPERIENCING THE HATE OF HIS BROTHERS.

- But they did and it seemed to grow by the day.

2. BEING SOLD INTO SLAVERY.

- Especially by his brothers…but he was.

3. BEING SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY.

- But he was = everything that was humanly precious to him was ripped from his very grasp!

4. LIVING IN EGYPT.

- But he did.

5. BEING FALSELY ACCUSED.

- But he was…and all he was trying to do was honor God and live right and do right!

6. BEING IN PRISON.

- But he did…for 2 years unjustly…for no wrong he he had done.

7. BEING FORGOTTEN.

- But he was…for 2 years!

8. BECOMING PRIME MINISTER OF EGYPT.

- But he did… he was elevated from the pit to the pinnacle…made the 2nd most important ruler in all the world!

The question comes to you today: what do you do when things don’t go as planned?

When I went to SWBTS in Fort Worth, Texas right after graduating from Clemson University in Mechanical Engineering…I had it all planned out! I was going to get a job in engineering and that would help meet my financial needs to get me through seminary. The problem: things didn’t exactly go as I HAD PLANNED! It all turned out that God had a better plan!

Isn’t this always true! GOD HAS A BETTER PLAN!

Look at how things turned out...

Genesis 41:37-45 …(read)…

Genesis 41:37–45 NASB95

Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. “You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.

So when things don’t go as planned = that is…as you planned…what do you do? 5 things:

1. TRUST GOD.

- Simply trust Him – trust that He knows what’s best…He knows what He’s up to…His plan is the better plan!

2. WAIT ON GOD. Wait upon the Lord = be still and know that He is God! Be patient.

- Boy, this is tough to do isn’t it!

- We live in a “instant, presto” society and world today!

- Waiting is not in our DNA!

- To become impatient gets us into trouble!

3. DON’T BLAME OR DOUBT GOD.

- Joseph never blamed God!

- In fact, eventually Joseph saw the perfect plan of God…and he told his brothers in Gen. 45:5-8…

4. KEEP SERVING GOD.

- Joseph did…no matter what he faced…no matter what bump he hit in the road of life…he just keep right on serving God…living for God!

- Circumstances…hardships…didn’t altar his living for God!

5. GET CLOSER TO GOD.

- I imagine Joseph grew closer to God through the difficult experiences in his life – sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, forgotten in prison.

- Those were character building moments in Joseph’s life.

- They are character building moments in your life too!

Conclusion

So the next time things don’t go as planned…what are you going to do?