Don’t Waste The Waiting
Genesis 39 – 40
Don’t stop here, keep the conversation going on The Breakdown. Each week, we take this message further, talk through real-life applications, and wrestle with the questions you’re already asking. Just search “Journey Church with James Hilton” wherever you listen to podcasts or on YouTube.
- If you ordered something online and the delivery kept getting delayed over and over again, how long would you wait before you just gave up and canceled the order? What’s the longest you’ve ever waited for something you really wanted?
- In this passage, Joseph does everything right — he acts with integrity, serves faithfully, and helps others — and still ends up forgotten. What stands out to you most about Joseph’s story, and why?
- Pastor Jadner made the statement: “Sometimes faithfulness sends you in a direction where things get worse and not better.”Have you ever seen that play out — either in your own life or in someone else’s? What was that like?
- Genesis 39:21 says, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”What’s surprising or unexpected about where and how God’s favor shows up in Joseph’s life?
- Read Genesis 39:19-20. Joseph is thrown into prison for something he didn’t do. He was falsely accused after choosing to do the right thing and walk away from Potiphar’s wife. Why do you think doing the right thing doesn’t always lead to an immediate reward? What does that tell us about how God works?
- Psalm 105:17-18 describes Joseph’s imprisonment this way: “Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons.”This wasn’t just a holding cell — Joseph physically felt the weight of his circumstances. Why do you think it matters that the Bible doesn’t sugarcoat how hard Joseph’s situation actually was?
- Read Genesis 39:22-23. Even in prison, Joseph was put in charge of all the other prisoners, and “whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”What does Joseph’s response to his circumstances tell us about the relationship between God’s favor and our own faithfulness?
- Read Genesis 40:6-8. Joseph notices that the cupbearer and baker are troubled and asks, “Why are your faces downcast today?”He didn’t have to stop. He didn’t have to ask. Why is it significant that Joseph, someone who had every reason to be consumed by his own problems, chose to focus on someone else’s?
- After correctly interpreting the cupbearer’s dream, Joseph makes one simple request in Genesis 40:14: “Only remember me…and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh.”Yet Genesis 40:23 says, “the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”Why do you think being forgotten can sometimes hurt more than being directly betrayed?
- Pastor Jadner used the sermon to describe God’s presence in Joseph’s life this way: “The way God functions is that he doesn’t remove our suffering, but he remains with us in the middle of it.”Has there been a season in your life where God’s presence felt more like companionship in the middle of hard circumstances rather than a rescue from them? What did that feel like?
- Pastor Jadner said, “God’s delay is not His neglect.”Is there an area of your life right now where you’re tempted to interpret God’s silence or slowness as Him forgetting about you? What makes it hard to trust His timing in that area?
- Joseph didn’t quit, didn’t try to escape, and — remarkably — didn’t seem to grow bitter. The sermon says, “Bitterness does nothing for your soul except cause it to rot.”Is there a situation, a person, or a season of life where bitterness has started to take root in you? What would it look like to let that go?
- The sermon makes the point that Joseph was “never closer to the king than when he was serving in the prison.”Think about the place in your life that feels most like a prison right now — your job, a relationship, a financial situation, or something else. Is it possible that God is setting something up in that very place? What would it look like to serve faithfully right where you are instead of waiting until circumstances improve?
- The sermon draws a powerful contrast: “Joseph was forgotten temporarily. Jesus was forsaken so we would never be forgotten.”How does knowing that Jesus experienced abandonment and forsakenness change the way you relate to Him in your own moments of feeling unseen or forgotten?
Prayer
Lord, honestly, waiting is hard. And there are moments where I wonder if You’ve forgotten about me — if You’ve moved on or if I somehow missed my moment. But I know that’s not who You are. You were with Joseph in a prison cell, and You’re with me right now, wherever I am.
Help me to stop trying to rush Your timing and start trusting Your plan. Help me to be faithful right where I am, even when it doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere. And where I’ve let bitterness take root — toward people who forgot me or let me down — give me the grace to let that go and give it to You.
Thank You that Jesus was forsaken on the cross so that I would never have to be truly forgotten. That changes everything. Help me to live like I actually believe that this week.
Amen.
