Explore the Bible Series for April 20: When presented with challenging tasks

Posted: 4/15/08

Explore the Bible Series for April 27

When presented with challenging tasks

• Genesis 41:1, 12-13, 15-16, 28-40

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

Life is full of challenges. Sometimes they come as we seek to challenge ourselves in some area of our lives. At other times, challenging tasks can be thrust upon us by other people or circumstances. While these are not usually negative in nature, they can create a moment of crisis for us as we gauge our ability of overcome the challenge.

Such a crisis can elicit a variety of responses. Some immediately begin to make excuses about why they cannot meet the challenge. Others seek to suggest or recruit others whom they feel would be better equipped for the task. Still others procrastinate in approaching the task hoping it will pass. Finally, some may begin by rising to the challenge only to quit when it is not quickly accomplished.

Joseph had spent much of his early life in relative ease as the favored son of his father, Jacob. We might speculate that whenever particularly difficult tasks arose at home, Jacob assigned them to one of Joseph’s older brothers. Yet despite this favored status, Joseph had come to realize that God had given him special gifts and abilities he could use whenever challenges arose. Through his life experiences, he came to see challenges as an opportunity to stretch his faith by using those gifts to overcome a series of difficult circumstances.

As we read about Joseph’s experiences in Egypt, we learn several valuable lessons concerning the way we might faithfully respond when presented with challenging tasks.

Trust God’s providence (Genesis 41:1, 12-13)

Two years had passed since Joseph had used his gift to help the baker and cupbearer understand their dreams. When the cup bearer was released, he must have felt his days in that prison were nearly over. Yet after two years, he still was a prisoner. Through his dreams as a child, God had shown him he had great plans for Joseph, but he must have wondered how those would ever be realized in light of his current situation. He was in a situation far beyond his control with little or no foreseeable means of escape.

Many times in life, each person may find him or herself in a seemingly hopeless situation or faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge. It can be easy to begin to wonder whether God still is watching and how you will ever get back on the path to God’s plans for your life.

Joseph’s story reminds us of the providence of God. Throughout his life God had used events in Joseph’s life to prepare him and position him to accomplish great things.

We often cannot understand the purpose or timing of the events of life, but we can trust God is able to use all those events to bring about his good purposes so that when we face challenging tasks, we can fully rely on God’s providential care.

Depend on God’s guidance (Genesis 41:15-16, 28-32)

The day finally came when the prison guard came and told Joseph pharaoh wanted to see him. While he may at first have wondered why, he must have felt this was his big break. After years of struggle wondering how and when his visions would come to pass, he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yet he also knew it all depended on how he handled this meeting with the most powerful man on earth. As a boy, he had flaunted his position and dreams. But now his time in the Egyptian prison had been used to teach Joseph to rely on God rather than his own abilities.

So often when we face difficult circumstances, our immediate response is to seek to overcome it through our own strength and cunning. This especially can be true when the solution seems to fit with our particular talents.

When he arrives at the palace and hears pharaoh is seeking to understand a dream he had, Joseph must have been relieved. He knew he had a gift for interpreting dreams, yet he recognized the gift would be misused if he did not allow God to work through it. Rather than accepting credit, Joseph acknowledged his need for God’s guidance before he began to offer help.

When faced with challenging tasks, we can only see a small piece of the larger picture. In order to navigate the problem most effectively, we must, from the start, depend on God’s guidance.

Propose solutions and accept God-given opportunities (Genesis 41:33-40)

While pharaoh certainly was grateful to have the answer to his question, the answer created a further dilemma. Knowing a famine was coming, what should he do? A famine lasting seven years would cause severe problems for many people, and as king, it was pharaoh’s responsibility to provide for them. Joseph knew the problems this created, and although he was not asked for help and it was not his responsibility, he took the bold step of suggesting a solution to the coming crisis.

Many times when challenging circumstances arise, it can be tempting to think our ideas are insignificant or to excuse our lack of involvement in the solution by saying, “it is not my responsibility to solve it.” Yet throughout history it often has been the suggestions of those who did not bear the responsibility that have led to the solution to significant problems and led those individuals on to do great things.

When we face trying times, we should never be hesitant to offer suggestions concerning a solution. For as Mordecai suggested to Esther, perhaps God has place us in the situation in order to recommend a course of action which may not otherwise be considered (Esther 4:14). If we do, we may find like Joseph, that God will bless our faithfulness in ways we could not imagine.