If you can't understand why a good and loving God could let what's happening to you right now actually happen, I understand where you're coming from. And here's what I want you to know. He wants to help you. You don't want to miss today's broadcast as we learn how to make it through the toughest times we face. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Living on the Edge is an international teaching and discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians. In just a minute, we'll wrap up our message, We'll See God, taught by our guest speaker, Greg Dietrich. Greg is a respected marketplace leader with decades of corporate experience, most notably when he was president of KFC.
Since then, Greg has founded his own ministry called Iron Bell, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Last time, Greg walked us through the life of Joseph from Genesis chapter 37 and highlighted the profound lessons we can learn from this tried and tested character. Today, he'll help us understand how God uses our most challenging and sometimes painful experiences to grow our faith.
So if you're ready, here's our guest teacher, Greg Dietrich, with the second half of his talk. The God of the Bible is the We'll See God. When he created Adam and Eve in the garden to have intimate fellowship with him, and they sinned and broke fellowship, and it looked like God's plan for humanity was forever separated, we'll see. When the Israelites were trapped in Egypt, and they were his chosen people, the nation he had built, and it looked like all was lost, we'll see. When Moses comes to save them from Pharaoh and take them into the promised land, the first thing they run into is the Red Sea, and they're trapped.
And it looks like they're either going to be drowned or have to go back into slavery in Egypt. We'll see. When David is anointed king, but Saul is still on the throne, and Saul is pursuing him to kill David and snuff out the lineage of Christ, we'll see. When Christ, who is the plan of God for the redemption of mankind, is killed on the cross and in the grave, and it looks like, once again, God's plans are thwarted and his promises will not bear out, we'll see. Folks, we still serve the we'll see God.
Now, it's easy, I think, to see life as a series of mountains and valleys connected by a few very short plateaus, in my experience. Jesus said in John 16, 33, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble.
But take heart, I have overcome the world. So I've tried to adopt the posture of rather than trying to avoid valleys, to learn from the Lord how to navigate the valleys that we experience. So let's take a look at Joseph. I call Joseph a valley veteran of Genesis 37 through 45. So at 17, he has this dream of his destiny, and it's from God.
It's a good thing. It's a promise that he's going to hold on to. And how does that journey begin? It begins with the pit.
Not so good. But might I suggest to you that the pit is actually dream fulfillment stage one? I can assure you that Joseph was very happy in Israel. He was the favorite of his father.
He already had this multicolored coat. But the problem was the Lord needed him in Egypt, so the Lord used the pit to get him to Egypt. Well, then he ends up in Potiphar's house as a servant.
You might say, well, how does that help? But might I suggest to you that Potiphar's house is actually dream fulfillment stage two? If he hadn't worked in Potiphar's house, he never would have learned how to rule in a different culture. And he certainly wouldn't have been able to learn to resist temptation, either wealth or from Potiphar's wife.
So he grew in character in Potiphar's house. And that ended him up in prison, and that looks like a bad thing. But might I suggest to you prison is dream fulfillment stage three? If he hadn't been in prison, he never would have met the cupbearer. And if he hadn't met the cupbearer and interpreted his dream, he never would have been put in front of Pharaoh to interpret Pharaoh's dream.
You see, through the natural lens, all of these things look hopeless. They all look like a retreat from the promises of God and the things that are good for Joseph. But Joseph didn't get stuck. He learned how to navigate the valley. What we learn from Joseph is that the pit, Potiphar's house, and prison can be the end of the journey or the preparation for the main event. You see, this is our story as well. We have to learn to contend and navigate the pit, Potiphar's house, and prison, our version of it. We've got to contend for our destiny. We have to be transformed by our life experiences.
And our faith must grow as our character and our capability are developed with it. And we must hope in the we'll see God. And many times in our life, we want God to be the instant God.
God, this is what I want. And I've seen God work miraculously in an instant. But you know what I've seen more? Is that God's the God of the process.
Why is there a process that God uses? Well, when I was in leadership at YUM, I had the fortune of working with Dr. Noel Tishie, who was one of the foremost experts in adult learning. And he said, you have three zones that your people are going to operate in, all of us do. He said, there's the comfort zone, that's where you're comfortable. Then there's the panic zone. He said, but the thing is, there's this sweet spot in the middle.
In between those called the learning zone. If we can create just enough discomfort, maybe a little pain, not in the physical sense, but just a rethinking of their circumstances, that's where the growth comes. That's the learning. Romans 5, 3 through 5 says it this way, not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings. Because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. You see the progression?
I think we all need a renewed perspective on God's process. I read about this biosphere that they created, I think it was in Arizona, where they created the perfect growing conditions, the soil, the moisture, the humidity, everything was perfect. And after a while, everything grew except at some point, all the trees died out. And when they investigated it and studied it, what they realized is the tree's roots were very shallow. And so as it grew, it couldn't hold the weight and they fell over. And this is what they discovered. They discovered that there was no winds of resistance that forced the tree to grow deep roots.
And as a result, it was weak and died. You see, in our life, we all love the winds of favor, don't we? I love when I know the Lord is working.
I know when He's with me. I know when I take two steps, He accomplishes four things. And I pray for those winds of favor. But here's the thing, in God's kingdom, winds of resistance usually come first. Winds of resistance come to strengthen us, to cause our roots to grow deep, to prepare us for the purposes and the promises that God has for our life. Winds of favor, yes. But first, winds of resistance. James 1, 2 through 4 says it this way, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
You see, it's our tests and our trials that produce the growth. Now, I mentioned at the very beginning, over 17 years ago now, our marriage was struggling. And we didn't know if we were going to make it. And we were in a pit.
And in this vice of pain and confusion, you know, there was a crisis and I had a choice. Am I going to keep vying for this marriage? Can God put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Is he able? Am I willing? Am I worthy?
We'll see. But how do we contend for our destiny? How do we grow in faith when we're experiencing a valley? We have to gain God's perspective on the situation.
That's the key. As you go from left to right, we're on this line. We have God's intended purpose and destiny for our life. And we're discovering it and we're walking in the direction of it that we think, or we're being propelled into it. And then along comes a pit.
And in that pit, we take a detour. And we're confronted with a very difficult situation. Our circumstances look different than what we thought our life or the promises of God were going to be. And so it's decision time. What do we do with that when our circumstances look different, like Joseph's, from what his dream was, from what he knew God had for him, his purposes? And so how we respond, I believe, is everything.
And this is the choice we have. Either we agree with the accuser, the enemy is there in the pit, and the enemy is going to try to get you to agree with lies about God or yourself. See, I told you God wasn't good. See, I told you God didn't care about you.
See, I told you you weren't worthy. And as we agree with those, we become defeated. We're done. And we find ourselves disqualified. We feel like we're out of the game for what God has for us. Or we can move to the right-hand side and exercise faith and trust in the promises of God, where we're surrendered, but we're not defeated. We're surrendered to the purposes of God. We're surrendered to the things he's wanting to do in our life, but we're not defeated in those circumstances. We have faith in him. We declare his promises over our life. We persevere in God's faithfulness so that we begin to soak in the truth of God about him and about ourselves. And I believe this catapults us. It gives us a new view. It takes us up to the top of the hill, where we get a faith-filled view of the hill, where our faith grows, where we see God's better-than-plan. We've tested his promises, and they've held. You see, your circumstances do not define God's nature or his ways.
And they don't change his promises. And it's faith that carries us through. Hebrews 11, 1 in the Amplified, this is one of my favorite verses, says this, now faith is the assurance, it's the title deed, the confirmation.
If you've ever been in real estate, you know when you hold that title deed, you own it. Of the things that are hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. And then listen to this, it's the conviction of their reality. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.
True biblical faith is knowing something that's not evident in our physical senses, but it's known because we know who God is, we know his promises, we know his character, and we can lean on that and choose that. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Our guest teacher today is businessman and Marketplace leader, Greg Dietrich. We'll get back to his talk in just a minute. But quickly, are you burned out spiritually? Does your faith feel more like a long list of to-dos instead of a genuine connection to Jesus? Well, stick around after this message as Chip points us to a new resource that'll help you rediscover the life-giving relationship God desires to have with you.
You don't want to miss it. Well, with that, here again is our guest teacher, Greg Dietrich, to finish his talk. Several years ago, Shelly and I, we were up in Corning, and we were at the Corning Glassworks, and we were in this glassblowing demonstration. I'm not talking about where they take the little thing and blow a little cup out the end. I'm talking about this huge oven that's heated up to over 2,800 degrees and where this master craftsman standing in front of it. And he says, doing a demonstration, he says, you see this lump of glass on the end of this stick? He said, that's glass?
It doesn't look like it. Yeah, it's glass. But the problem is it's not usable for me to be able to create what I've designed to create out of it. And he said, my whole task is this. The first step is I put this in the oven in the hottest part where it's over 2,800 degrees.
And he said, here's the trick. I leave it there long enough so that the dross burns off and the glass is molten. And if I leave it in too long, it falls to the bottom of the oven and melts, and it's no good. So I get that glass to the point where the dross is gone and it's shapeable and moldable.
I pull it out, and then I make it in to what the artisan wants it to be. And Shelley and I both looked at each other. We said, that's God. That's God.
That's how he uses these valleys. You see, a few years ago when I was in a valley, I said to the Lord, you know, I seem to keep showing up in these same movies that I don't like the ending, but I'm with different actors. And the Lord said, we had these conversations. He said, Greg, did you notice the only constant in this is you?
Oh, good point. And here's what I learned through that. He showed me, Greg, when I put you in the oven to burn off the dross and to shape you, you keep jumping off the stick. And so I got to keep putting you back in the oven, and then you jump off the stick. He said, if you let me mold you and shape you, burn off the dross, I can make you more of what I designed you to be and launch you into your destiny.
Don't waste it, he said. Cooperate with what I'm doing to you. Align to my purposes and plans. Trust me.
Trust me to hold that stick long enough to accomplish my purpose, but not to let you melt on the bottom of the oven. He said, you'll be more prepared for your destiny and the purposes that God has for you. Now you can see how we can consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds, or how we can glory in our sufferings, as Paul said. Our testing and trials allow us to get to know God, grow in faith, and prepare us for our life purposes.
Know God, grow in faith, and prepare us for our life purposes. Remember the continuing story of my marriage I shared earlier? Well, we got really good counsel, we dug in, we did the work, we surrounded ourselves with good people, people who could speak hope into us. But really, I think for me, what shifted it was this. Everything shifted when I surrendered to God and trusted his ways. And let him guide the process, let him lead, let him turn the heat up enough to burn the dross off and shape me and align to his plan.
You know, I asked, what are you doing? Not why. I trusted him, even when I didn't feel like. And I gained his perspective, and he said this, Greg, I'm changing you, I'm conforming you, your character isn't ready for your destiny. And the only way through that is through this trial that I have for you. Well, now our marriage is thriving.
Chelly's not here this morning, so you can't validate that, but Chelly, give me a thumbs up. But we have a marriage coaching and a marriage conference that we do. People aren't coming to see us. People are coming because they've heard the story. I want to know this God that transforms. I want to know this God who restores.
I want to know this God who redeems things from the pit. Now, not everything turns out the way we want it. Life is full of pain and loss.
Joseph had to experience the Potiphar's house in prison, so there's a real pain to this. But God will accomplish his purposes, and he will keep his promises in our life. Conclude with this story. There was a startup church that formed in an unchurched area that I was familiar with, and their first pastor left abruptly after a short tenure, leaving this fledgling startup congregation without a shepherd and on shaky ground. We'll see. When the next pastor left without notice, five years into his tenure, and once again, that same church was left without a shepherd for over a year, struggling to survive.
We'll see. When the church became divided over a building to call their home and fractures in the church started to occur, causing a shaking, we'll see. When the town they want to build then denies them that right, and they have to seek permission in the courts all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and it looks like they'll never have a building to call their own, we'll see. When the beloved longtime senior pastor decides to step aside and a new pastor with a completely different style and vision comes in, disrupting the church's direction, we'll see. When tragedy strikes the areas served by this church and resources and faith are tested and people are devastated, we'll see. When the pandemic strikes, causing a shutdown of the church and creates polarizing decisions that threaten the unity of the body and the breaking of relationship, we'll see. When the hometown son who grew up to be the gifted preacher is called elsewhere and things feel upended, we'll see.
Folks, that church is Walnut Hill. That's our story. God has been faithful to us, and he will be faithful to us in this season. Are you contending for God's purposes in your life? Are you pursuing in faith your destiny, whether you're in the pit, Potiphar's house, or prison? Whether a son or daughter leaves the faith and looks like they're lost forever, we'll see. When illness threatens your life, we'll see. When your job is lost and there's no income on the horizon, we'll see. When your marriage is struggling and it looks like it might end, we'll see. When you're forced to move out of town and leave everything and everyone you've known, we'll see.
If you're in a fire or a crucible, don't jump from the heat too early. Don't give up on God. Don't believe the lies of the enemy. Trust his promises. Trust him. Align to his plans. Be conformed to his image.
Get to know him fully in that place. Ask what, not why, and I believe that you'll see God. That's 888-333-6003 or LivingOnTheEdge.org. Before we go, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, is here in studio with a quick word.
Chip? Thanks, Dave. You know, something I hear all the time, actually from some of the most committed Christians that I know that love God, high integrity, and when we get alone and they get a bit more honest, they talk about how worn out they are, how they're struggling with their purpose, and that was true of a good friend of mine named Greg Dietrich. And it was through a very challenging time that God literally awakened his life and his spirit to what it means to have an engagement with God where there's intimacy and joy and surprises and adventure. And this brand new resource from Greg Dietrich, published by Living on the Edge, is building in the spirit.
If you need, I mean, a fresh vision and need to kind of pause and say, Where is this life that's really life? I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. Dave, could you take a moment and tell our listeners how they can get it?
Be glad to, Chip. To order your copy of Greg Dietrich's new book, go to LivingOnTheEdge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. We pray this resource will show you how to break free from the burden of religion and thrive in the joy of being in a relationship with Jesus. Again, to get the book Building in the Spirit by Greg Dietrich, visit LivingOnTheEdge.org or call 888-333-6003.
App listeners, tap Special Offers. With that, Chip, let's get to that application you promised. Thanks so much, Dave. And as we wrap up this short message from my friend Greg Dietrich, let me encourage you today, this very day, to remind yourself that God is trustworthy. It may not feel like it, but He's trustworthy. That He's kind. He's not allowing difficult and painful things to happen because He's against you or down on you or wants to punish you. He's kind. But in a fallen world, God orchestrates things at times that don't feel very kind.
And He's faithful. It's going to come out. It may take time. It may be difficult. It's the Joseph journey that at times we all go on. And for Joseph, it was a 13-year journey, and God did something in him, and He prepared him to do something great through him. God is doing the same in your life and in my life, and a short-term lens and view of life almost always takes us into the pit, and we lose perspective. And finally, could you remember that God is for you? I know it's easy when it's hard and discouraging and you keep taking the right steps and you say, I'm trusting, and then it just seems like it gets harder and harder and worse and more difficult. I'm reminded of Isaiah 40, 31, but those who wait, literally it's a waiting with the idea of trusting, but those who wait on the Lord, drawing near to Him, will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.
They will run and not get tired, and they will walk and not become weary. You know, today, let me just give you an example that has been one of the most overwhelming experiences in my adult life of seeing how God could take a very difficult, challenging time and do something, at least in my experience, beyond my wildest dreams. We were early on in the pandemic, and I got discouraged, and after I got discouraged, I got depressed. And in the midst of that, I found myself talking to a man who's in charge of all the Protestant churches in Egypt. And as we were talking and finding out how things and COVID was playing out, all he said was, we're barely surviving. He's talking about markets closing and people dying and all the tragedy all around. And I happened to mention to him, you know, I've been thinking about a series that might be helpful called The Art of Survival.
And he says, send it to me. And I remember telling him, no, no, no, I've been thinking about it. There was something about the need of someone else that spurred me into action, and that was a Thursday. I studied over the weekend.
By Monday, I got a couple guys to come in with a couple cameras, and I did a three-part series on The Art of Survival from James 1. I mean, it's the teaching about when you're in difficult times, right? Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials. You know, persevere talks about getting supernatural wisdom.
God will show you what to do no matter what. And then finally, this theology of that when we're hurting the most, when we're down, when it's difficult, we actually have a high spiritual position because that's when we're going to be dependent. And we sent that to him, and that little video got translated into a tiny little book called The Art of Survival. And we helped all the pastors in Egypt. And then it was like watching one of those pinball machines where it goes bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.
And all I can tell you, within two or three weeks, it was 700 pastors in India, and then it went to Africa and South America. And now this little booklet that grew out of, I'm bummed out. This isn't fair. I'm depressed.
God, why are you letting this happen to me? I think that little booklet now is in 27 different languages, about 150,000 to 180,000 pastors live on the ground in countries all around the world have gone through it. And they're one thing they say after they go through our one-day seminar on The Art of Survival.
Now, I'm not going to give up. And we do some teaching, then we get them in some very small groups, and they share their heart, and they pray with one another. And what they do is remind each other that life is hard, God is good, but He is sovereign.
And they go on the Joseph journey together. Let me encourage you, don't give up. Don't give in.
The biggest things that God wants to do is right around the corner. So hang tough. Trust Him. Great word for us to remember, Chip. Thanks. As we close, I want to thank each of you who makes this program possible through your generous giving. One hundred percent of your gifts go directly to the ministry to help Christians live like Christians. Now, if you found this teaching helpful but aren't yet on the team, consider doing that today.
Sending a gift is easy. Go to LivingOnTheEdge.org, or call 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003. Or visit LivingOnTheEdge.org. App listeners, tap donate. And let me thank you in advance for doing whatever the Lord leads you to do. Well, thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Druey, and I hope you'll join us again next time. Music
