BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHO IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING? God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. Nothing is outside of God's good plan. Job learned that God is all-powerful, sovereign, and good. When we face suffering, we can hope in God. God sent Jesus, the only truly innocent One, to suffer and die so that everyone who trusts in Him can have forgiveness and eternal life. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
In research, there is a common practice used to measure data: the pretest and posttest. The pretest is a baseline, assessing the state of something prior to experimental factors being introduced. As is suggested by the name, this happens prior to the experiment. The posttest is a comparison, designed to compare the outcome of the experiment to the pretest results in order to assess change. As the name suggests, the posttest comes after the experiment. In the life of Job, we find a man who goes through the most traumatic experiences imaginable. Job lost his kids, his wealth, his career, and his friends. His sheep even burned up! (It’s true, read Job 1:16.) Job’s life was turned upside down. His joy was low and his sorrow was high. It’s fascinating to look at Job’s life before and after this series of trials. Prior to Job’s losing all he had, Job is described as blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. He had great spiritual fortitude and great material wealth. Following his extended trial, Job repented of his wavering trust in God. Job was restored to God, and God restored his wealth to a greater degree than before. The pretest and posttest of Job’s journey demonstrate a man who, in the big picture, was unshakable in his relationship with God. Though he had high and low moments during the trial, Job was fully restored to God. Like Job, our faithfulness does not mean that there won’t be moments of struggle or slipping, but it does mean that overall, our faith in God remains and grows. If you aren’t in the midst of a trial, know that God is strengthening your trust in Him so that when difficulty does come—and it will—your pretest shows a strong faith that can endure. And if you are in the midst of great challenges right now, strive to endure so that a posttest might demonstrate that your love and trust of God has remained and even increased. Trials are inevitable. Trust in God, who controls everything. Anticipate that trials will come, and aim for growth on the other side. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHO IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING? God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. Nothing is outside of God's good plan. God had a plan for Joseph’s life. He allowed Joseph to suffer in order to rescue a whole nation. God planned for Jesus to suffer so that many—people from all nations—would be saved. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
The story of Joseph is packed full of moments that resonate with us. Maybe you were the favorite child or the favorite child’s sibling. Some people resonate with being cast away from family or being undeservingly welcomed into a new family. Some resonate with finding favor with an enemy or showing favor to an enemy. In Joseph’s story, we can see ourselves and our need for Jesus in so many ways. On at least four occasions in Joseph’s journey, others gave him tremendous blessings. Though Joseph lost some of these earthly treasures, he remained faithful to the Lord. We normally focus on Joseph’s adversity, but we can’t miss that both the lows and highs of Joseph’s life were also marked by God’s blessing through others. First, Joseph’s father blessed him with a beautiful multi-colored robe as a representation of his favored status. This tangible symbol was taken from him when his brothers sold him into slavery. Yet Joseph remained faithful. Next, Potiphar blessed Joseph by making him overseer of his entire household. The role lent itself to all the tangible and monetary things anyone could want. But when Joseph fled from the advance of Potiphar’s wife, it was all taken from him. Yet Joseph remained faithful. Third, the prison warden blessed Joseph by making him overseer over the entire prison. Finally, Pharaoh blessed Joseph by placing him as second in command over all of Egypt, putting Joseph in a position to save his family from famine. Joseph refused to let the evil actions of others steal his faith. When he had the chance to take away from others who had taken from him, Joseph showed generosity instead. We experience various common grace blessings from the Lord every day. These blessings can tempt us to worship the gift rather than the Giver. Like Joseph, we must remain steadfast under trial and faithful to the Lord. In famine and in plenty, blessed be the name of the Lord. He is good and in control. GOSPEL APPLICATION
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER WHO IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING? God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. Nothing is outside of God's good plan. God changed Jacob’s life and gave him a new name, Israel. Jesus came so that we might have a changed life, forgiven of sin. Jesus’ death and resurrection provided sinful people the way to be adopted into God’s family. When we trust in Jesus, we also receive a new name—children of God. MEMORY VERSE READ THE STORY:
Jacob’s journey in Genesis is one of unexpected and undeserved blessing after blessing. With a name that literally means “he cheats,” Jacob was unlikely to receive the privilege and opportunity God gave him. Jacob was a cheater, a liar, and a deceiver. He was quiet and not strongly gifted. And he was gullible, too. We cannot miss that the deceiver was deceived at times too—easily convinced by his mother and tricked by his uncle. But God would work through Jacob when no circumstances or characteristics made it seem possible. In Genesis 32:10, Jacob expressed his own bewilderment to the Lord. “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps.” Jacob came to realize that nothing that he had accomplished or accumulated was the result of his own doing. He was not capable or competent enough to produce the many good things he had received and especially not to be the recipient of the promise of God to make his family like the dust of the earth. Jacob was humbled by the reality that through him and his offspring, all of the families of the earth would be blessed. Have you ever had a moment of astonishment at the magnitude of what God has given you through Christ? Have you taken the time to recognize that all that you have is from God? Does it cause you to rejoice when you think about God’s grace? It’s easy to look at Jacob and say he didn’t deserve what God gave him. It’s hard to feel that way about ourselves. But it’s just as true. Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Salvation should bring about this astonishment in us as well. It should remind us that we are not worthy, and it should lead us to rejoice in the undeserving gift of God’s grace. GOSPEL APPLICATION
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December 2023
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