What God Actually Promises You | Genesis 50 | Crossroads Daily

So let's testify, where's a point in your life where you've experienced God that way? What to choose? That's right, that's right. I'm gonna testify. This is the Crossroads Daily. No experts, no perfect people, just honest conversations about what happens when the Bible shows up in real life. Hey, I'm Chuck. I'm Alex. I'm Chris. I'm Sierra. Genesis 50 has some of the most powerful words probably ever spoken in scripture, but certainly Joseph. When Joseph says, what you meant for harm, God meant for good. God is the ultimate alchemist, and he is able to work good out of anything in our lives. And so I was thinking about growing up in my church, Shekinah Revival Temple. I love saying the name of my church growing up because it just tells you a lot about my church experience that that was the name of my church, Shekinah Revival Temple. And every week we would have testimony. People would get up and testify. It usually started the same way, giving honor to God, saints, pastors, friends.

And I want to tell you about how God has worked in my life. Amen. And so we are going to testify. That's right, Alex. That's right. We're going to testify because I'm sure there are times in your life where you look back and it looked like it wasn't going your way, but only in retrospect, you see how God was faithful and good. So let's testify. Where's a point in your life where you've experienced God that way? What to choose. That's right. I'm going to testify. Gosh, seriously, for me, it is like what to choose. Like I've seen God show up and heal my body physically in ways that are only explained through miracle, through some like scary diagnoses. When I was in high school, things said by doctors like, you might have to use a walker, or you might have to be in a wheelchair, or you will never have children. And I have two children. Amen. And you walked in here today.

I walked in here today. Yes, you did. I sure did. So, amen. Amen. Praise God. And I also think about the next one that came to mind, even though there are a million, is my marriage too. And I have been married for seven years and there were multiple times where that didn't seem possible at all. Like the next day of marriage didn't seem like maybe it would be a thing. And man, the way that I have seen God redeem both Cameron and I as individuals, but also together to where now we're at the point where it's not even like, is tomorrow will we still be married? But we're actually able to like walk alongside other couples who are struggling in their marriage to tell them, hey, it is possible when today you don't think tomorrow might be possible for your marriage. It is. And it is through the power of the Lord and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but it can be possible for you. That's good. Praise God.

Yes. What do people at your church say at the end? They would say praise God. Praise God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. I just think about my family. Like I think when I got first graduated college, there was this summer where it was just like this exposing that happened and there was so much grief and hurt and loss, but out of that has come so much vulnerability and intimacy in depth of relationship that I don't think we would have ever gotten to had any of that happened. So it's just been good. Like my family is redeemed. We're great. We are healthy. Awesome. Got a child grandson for my parents. I'm like, we're just so good. Yes you do. Yes you do. We're good. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. Oh man. I told this story a few weeks ago. We had someone watching our daughter

when she was about nine or 10 months and our daughter fell. Fractured skull was in the emergency room. Blood just outside of her skull. We didn't know if it was going to go into her brain and really scary moment. Obviously she's okay now, but everything about that was like, why would God allow something like this to happen? And then looking back now I see in the weeks following the vulnerability that my wife and I got to have with each other of just letting ourselves emotionally process stuff where we, her and I are notorious for just not feeling things. Just in some way, distracting or numbing or suppressing. And I just remember going on a walk the day after. Our daughter's asleep in the stroller. Her head's swelled like this and we're just like, I just turned to her and I just felt God prompting me to be like, hey, what do we? Just unfiltered, just say whatever we're feeling right now. And I feel like I look back and see like in the past year how much more Honest and vulnerable we've been and just unfiltered with how we're feeling because of a moment like that. Yeah, is it like You know did god Make that happen so that we'd be more emotional It's I don't know like god knows what he's doing at the end of the day and like he can turn anything like God works all things together for those who love him and those who call according to his purpose. So like at the end of the day something can be intended for evil or just Life happens and god can still Find moments of redemption. Um, so I feel like we're more emotionally healthy and closer. Yeah, and our daughter's okay

So it's like, you know, praise god That's right. That's right chuck. Gosh. I mean there's so many like you guys said there's so many um The thing that's on my heart to share is um, I have two siblings who were addicted to crack cocaine And you know I grew up in Kind of philly in a time where that was that was common I had lots of people in my life that were impacted by that And just to look back at god's faithfulness To my brother and my sister The freedom that they live in today from that Um how god has even used them in some ways to help other people come out of that like it's it's only god's goodness And it's only god's faithfulness and I think about my own recovery story same thing like it's only god's goodness and his faithfulness and um, there's dark times when you're Dealing with an addiction that you just think like you're trapped And you're never going to get out It's the umpteenth time you've tried whatever it may be and just to know that god is faithful For the long haul man. I'm just so glad so yeah, that'd be my testimony. Amen. Praise god. Amen so I mean part of the reason I loved growing up in a church where we would give testimony Is because when you're in the middle of a thing It's hard Yeah, it's hard. And so what do you think makes it difficult? Even though we've got all these examples, right? We didn't name all the examples and yet I don't know Maybe i'm the only person around the circle that the next time i'm in something hard. I might doubt I know you guys probably don't do that anymore, but I might doubt never Um, why is it so hard to trust god in the middle of a thing? I think it's just because you're in the middle like you're not at the beginning You're not at the end, you know that you have to get out of it some way or another And knowing like you have no idea what that looks like What's next like is it flower fields?

Is it a dirt road? Like where am I gonna end up next and it's just like complete in total surrender That you just have to forfeit. Yeah. Yeah. I I think you're on to something there. I think it's the loss of control Yeah that we really struggle with yeah, and I really struggle. I'll use I statements that I really It's the loss of control. Yeah I think for me It's that I forget that the ultimate promise is that god will be with me no matter what and I try to tack on these other promises like well, what if this falls through and what if this happens and It's like that might happen But the one thing that won't get taken away is that god is with me. That's good. And I think my nervousness about everything else Causes me to distrust and doubt and be fearful Um and just forget it's like no there's only one thing that's never gonna go away and he's with me. Yeah, so yeah That's good. I love what you said about tacking on these extra promises I make those bargains with god all the time Yeah, god. I know you said this but this is the three things I really want Right and if I think it's like well i've been i've been going to church i've been reading my bible i'm doing the right things so doesn't that a plus b means you're going to Do c and i'm going to have all these great other outcomes like yes You're with me, but all these other things right? That's right. I don't know that. That's right Well, even thinking about joseph's words, right? I mean joseph isn't saying that in the middle of prison He's not saying that in the middle of you know being arrested or being a slave at potterfer's house He's not saying in the middle of that. It's the long view. Yeah that allows him to say that you know What godmen for evil felt like evil to joseph for probably 30 plus years? However long it was from the time where he was sold to the time that he was, you know Reunited and seeing this so yeah, there's a long view That joseph is speaking with yeah That's why it's so important I just want to affirm like if you're an older person if you are a senior like we need you Vitally in our lives and community and I say we i'm now we I mean i'm i'm a senior in this circle, right?

Um, but it's so important to have people who have walked with god much longer than you Who can give you that kind of perspective that's one of the ways I think we make it over so Today, I guess whatever if I had an encourager for you today, it would be this It would be take a time to testify take a moment to think about god's faithfulness in your life And take the opportunity maybe to testify to others because you never know What god has brought you through might be exactly where someone finds themselves and you might be the reason and the resilience to keep moving forward.