Profit from your Crisis | Genesis 37-41

INTRODUCTION

Can any Profit come out of our Crisis?

How can we have the right perspective in our times of Crisis?

How do you respond when you face a problem in life? There are all kinds of worries and they come to us surprisingly. Maybe you are going through a painful situation, suffering a loss, or going through difficulty or hardship which can be in your finances, relationship, health, career, studies, ministry, etc. The issue is how you respond. and how do you deal with it? and If you respond the right way, you can profit from it. So, the truth is that in every crisis there is an opportunity that we miss if not handled properly.

We are going to see how we can have the right perspective in our crisis.

All Bible personalities went through different kinds of problems in life. Right from Abraham, to David, to Jesus Christ, to Apostle Paul, to Apostle John; all went through trying circumstances but they came out successful. The secret behind their success is their attitude to the crisis. I wish we could study the life of all of them but today we will just take a look at one Bible personality who went from crisis to crisis with no one to help him but profited from the crisis. The man I am speaking about is Joseph. You know the story of Joseph; I just want to highlight the different crises that Joseph went through mentioned in Genesis chapters 37-50 and then see how we can profit from our crisis.

Nine Crisis in the Life of Joseph

a. Relational crisis

Genesis 37:1-17 As his father Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph made things worse for him by telling his brothers that they would bow down to him one day. Joseph was hated by his brothers as a boy.

b. Crisis of loneliness

Genesis 37:18-24 Joseph went to find the whereabouts of his brothers in the field where they stripped him of his robe and threw him into an empty cistern.

c. Crisis of betrayal

Genesis 37:25-36 Joseph was sold by his brothers to Egyptian merchants for 20 shekels of silver.

d. Work crisis

Genesis 39:1-6 Joseph was forced to work as a slave for Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chief bodyguard. Do you think Joseph had an easy life in Egypt? No, he had to face the realities of a tough job, and then he had to prove himself as a good slave. In Joseph’s time, a Hebrew was considered inferior to others. So he was the least of the slaves in the house. Joseph had to deal with a lot of crises at work. Eventually, the Bible says God prospered Joseph and Potiphar made him in charge of his entire household.

e. Moral crisis

Genesis 39:7-20 Joseph was targeted for seduction by Potiphar’s wife. He was wrongly accused for attempt to rape and wrong evidences produced. Have you ever had a moral crisis in life where people have accused your morality? Joseph suffered the same.

f. Crisis of a pink slip

Genesis 39:19-20 Once the wrong evidence of seduction was produced, Joseph’s master stripped him off his job and position.

g. Crisis of imprisonment

Genesis 39:20-23 Joseph was sent to prison unjustly for refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. He was wrongly accused.

h. Friends forgot him

Genesis 40 Have you ever had a situation where you helped someone in life but when you wanted that person the most they were not there? In prison, Joseph helped Pharaoh’s cupbearer by interpreting his dream. Joseph then asked the cupbearer to help him when he is released from jail, but the cupbearer conveniently forgot Joseph after receiving favors.

i. Near-death crisis

Genesis 41:15-16 I believe this was the toughest crisis of Joseph’s life. Joseph was asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Remember Pharaoh was the most powerful man then in the world. In the previous chapter, Pharaoh had just beheaded his baker. If Joseph’s interpretation was wrong or if Pharaoh was not pleased with Joseph, he could have killed him immediately. Therefore, Joseph had to face a near-death situation, a do-or-die situation and he faced it.

Now, I have given you at least nine significant crises that came across the life of Joseph mentioned in the Bible besides many others gone undocumented like sicknesses, feelings of hopelessness, feelings of rejection, financial crisis, etc. Yet when we see the life of Joseph, he is remembered as a successful man. In spite of all that happened to him, Joseph had an absolute turnaround.

Genesis 41:42-43

42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

With every problem, Joseph moved ahead in life and then he used every storm as a stepping stone that led him close to his success. Joseph profited from his crisis.

Some of you may feel that you are not getting anywhere in life. That may be because when things happened in your life that you thought were insignificant, God thought that they were very significant because he was giving you the opportunity. He was testing you, trying you, and seeing how you are responding. Many people wonder if somehow they missed it in life when the truth is that they did not respond correctly when God gave them the opportunity to, they did not respond correctly to the little tests and trials that came their way. Remember, every trial is an opportunity to profit for a child of God.

Now with this in mind, I have some suggestions to face your crisis. I know they absolutely work. My own life is a testimony to that. I want you to write these suggestions down, and try them, when you find yourself in any crisis you will see God brings you through it with confidence and assurance.

The Right Approach to your Crisis

1. See God’s perspective

a Look at your problem and how God looks at it.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

If you can believe this verse when a crisis comes, you have the right attitude to face it. God is working everything in my life for my good. If I truly believe this verse I will be calm and wait to see what God will do in my life with this crisis because God loves me so much and if he lets me suffer he has something good coming my way.

b. Trust God is in control over everything

Psalm 103:19

The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

You must understand that God is in control over the natural and the unnatural. God is in control over your family, he is in control over the economy, he also is in control over people above you and under you. God is in absolute control over everything. He is in charge of everything. So I may not understand everything, but God is working to bring it out for my good because my God is in control of all things.

c. Understand God’s ways are higher than our ways

Isaiah 55:8-9

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The big question people ask in crisis is why the crisis? But God is saying, “You will not always understand what I do, you will not always understand the way I do things, and you will not always understand the way I go about things. So do not lose heart because you do not understand why. Our mindset must be I know that if God allows it, it is going to be for my good, God has a reason. Understand God is intimately involved in you whether it is your pain or whatever circumstances it might be his ways are the best for you.

2. Reject unscriptural advice

One of the things people do in a crisis is tell everyone about it and start seeking advice from all but be careful about who you talk about your crisis to because sometimes we want answers and we ask people for advice. You cannot afford to listen to other people’s advice about what God is doing in your life. Remember they are not you. They will not know what to do in your position because your circumstances are unique and God is working uniquely for you; this is not the way God works for other people. You just got to be still and know that God is in control and do not trust other people to tell you what God is doing in your life.

Then there are God-appointed counselors and pastors you can consult for godly wisdom, but before you get any advice from anybody watch the way they live. If they are living a godly life, then you can possibly get godly advice.

3. Don’t quickly judge

Remember when we are in crisis usually our mind starts to make judgments on the situation. In a crisis, our natural response is anger, resentment, and bitterness either towards God, others, or even you. It is natural to be angry and bitter but we need to deal with such judgment and anger immediately. You need to ask God to help you deal with your anger and bitterness. Pray in the presence of God. “God I do not what my future is, I never thought they would behave with me like this, I never thought I would be cheated, I am angry Lord please help me forgive. I know Lord that you are in control. I want to take this opportunity to be able to be hurt without being angry and bitter.”

Remember, anger will never get us anywhere. We are all going to face crises and when you let anger just lie there, you could possibly miss God’s whole purpose in the crisis. There are people who are living in anger over something that happened years ago. They say, “Pastor, you do not know what they did to me.” “Sister how long has it been?” “It’s been 10 years.” “You are still angry over something that happened 10 years ago?” “Yes, I am.” “Has anger and bitterness profited you?” “No.” Anger does not profit anything. The fact is that you put the barrier of anger up and you said no, no, no when God was trying to do something in your life that is going to make a life-changing difference in your life. So get rid of the anger, forgive, and love them with Christ’s love.

4. Recall past crisis

Look back. Recall past crises and the opportunities that followed. Think about your worst crisis. If you had responded correctly, you can now stand and look back and say, “Thank you, God, it was a very difficult time in my life but now I see what you were doing. You were preparing me for something else.”

Now you know that it was the will of God and why he sent you through that crisis. Now you are strong, you are more conformed to His image through that crisis. That means God is continually working in our life to shape us into the image of Jesus Christ. He is going to allow and send into our lives whatever is necessary to shape us in character like his son. So when I know about that and look back at my past crisis, I know God is doing exactly the same in this crisis, and I will come out stronger.

5. Focus on God

Focus on God instead of the crisis. Usually, when we are in a crisis we focus more on the problem. But if you keep on focusing on the crisis, you will lose focus on what God is doing in your crisis, you will miss out on where God is leading you.

Do you say God has never spoken to me when I ask him a question? Do you think God will isolate his son or daughter and say that I will not speak to him? Maybe I have not been sensitive but God is speaking to me. He wants to give you directions, Wants you to take opportunities. He wants you to take advantage of your crisis in life and wants to use it to grow you and confirm his likeness. So God is waiting for a chance to speak to you.

People ask, “How can I focus on God when I am hurt?” When you are hurt never neglect the ways God speaks to us. Don’t stop church, don’t neglect your prayer, and read your Bible. When you do this God becomes your focus. The Word of God will encourage you, challenge you, and correct you. He will bring something into your life that needs to be changed, and he is going to show you. But if you focus on the crisis you will lose it all.

You may still be hurt but if you can read the word of God, your emotions will slowly heal, you will find strength, you will find direction, and you start to look at things as God looks at things. When you focus on God you will stop dwelling on the pain, and the Word will become the source of strength.

6. View crisis as an opportunity

When facing a crisis, you must believe in your heart that God is using this as an opportunity, even though you may not know it.. I may not understand it but here is an opportunity for God to teach me something or put me in a position that I can never achieve otherwise. We do not see all of the backgrounds; we do not see all of the things that God is doing in our lives. He is working it all for our good. View the crisis as an opportunity, obey God and leave all the consequences to him and when you come out God would have used that crisis as an opportunity to rise you up.

Joseph viewed every crisis as a stepping stone and God took him out of slavery and made him a ruler in Egypt, second only in power to Pharaoh. All through the crisis, Joseph kept his focus on God. He knew God is in control Years later, during the time of severe famine, Joseph saw his brothers once again when they came to Egypt to beg for the privilege of buying food. They had no idea that this Egyptian ruler standing before them was Joseph. But finally, when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers they were petrified and begged Joseph not to kill them.

See Joseph’s perspective on his crises.

Genesis 45:7-8 

7 God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Joseph personally faced the crisis that crossed his life, but he understood that God used the crisis to protect Joseph’s life.

Genesis 45:5

And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

Because of Joseph’s trouble God even protected his family.

Even in the Times of Crisis God is in Control

So learn to trust God – even when we feel all is over God is in control. God is directing us, shaping us, correcting us, and protecting us.

Are you facing a crisis today? Do you have a situation where things are not working out for you? Maybe it has been months and months and nothing is changing. Apply these Biblical principles; you will be able to turn each crisis of your life into an amazing opportunity to see Him work.