You’ll Get Through This OBS Week 2 — Down and Out, But Never Alone

Believe in God’s destiny for you. ~ Max

Welcome to week two of the You’ll Get Through This Online Bible Study with Max Lucado. This week we are going to talk about trusting in and placing hope in the sovereignty and the goodness of God as Joseph did.

We open the story of Joseph as he is sold by his brothers. His life will never be the same. And, his situation just gets worse and worse. An avalanche of heartbreak, and disappointment, and suffering.

Can you relate?

Life has a way of letting us down. ~ Max

Many of us have had circumstances shift unexpectedly and suddenly life will never be the same. Sometimes life lops off parts of us that we thought were permanently connected. It hurts, we grieve, we mourn, we confess our confusion and disorientation. But the circumstances don’t change. Maybe not for a long time.

God uses tough times for His glory and our development. ~ Max

Don’t you just hate it when someone says something true but insensitive? I do! Especially when it’s me.

“This is character building.” That was my very klutzy joke. A sweet friend of mine lost her young husband leaving her a widow with two little kids, then lost her business leaving her fearful and scrambling for a way to pay the bills, and as if things couldn’t get any worse, she found out she had breast cancer. When we got the news, we laid down on her living room floor and cried and then she started laughing and shouted at me,

“I don’t want any more character! I’m already kind, wise, and adorable!”

What on earth could ballast her during that fierce season? Nothing. She didn’t have her husband’s shoulder to lean on. She didn’t have money to ease the burden. She didn’t even have a sure future before her. Earth could offer her nothing but worries.

So, she flung all her hope onto what God had said. Just like Joseph.

I was talking with my eldest daughter recently about the boldness of hope. We both have battled hope over the years in a kind of hate/love relationship with something so seemingly gossamer. When you’ve been through the worst circumstances that you could ever have imagined going through, situations that you wouldn’t expect to survive, or even want to live after, hope is… what? Stupidity? Lunacy? Courage?

Faith. Cynicism is easy, natural, and human. Having faith in a God who is good, kind, loving, and has good plans in mind for you after all Hell has broken loose, takes dogged, determined, come-Hell-or-highwater and sometimes lie-down-on-the-floor-and-cry through the pain, hang-on-tight tenacity of will and guts.

And, it turns out, that’s hope. The hope of those who walk with a limp but lean on Jesus. It may seem delicate, but it’s strong!

In whatever way life has let you down, friends, hang on. Battle hope if you must, but keep believing in what He has said.

He is with you. He’s in control. And, God will use this for your good and for His glory.

So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ — eternal and glorious plans they are! — will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does. ~ 1 Peter 5:10 MSG

This week in your study:

1. Watch the video for session two on our study home page. Take notes in your study guide on pages 29-33 and then stick around for the conversation with our OBS community!
2. Go through the study questions with your group or on your own on pages 34-39.
3. Read chapter 2 in the You’ll Get Through This
4. Grab your Bible and enjoy your personal study this week on pages 40-42.
5. Join the conversations about the study and in our private Facebook group.

Scriptures this Week

Genesis 37:5–11
Genesis 37:23–28
Ephesians 1:3
John 15:13–16
1 Peter 1:18–20
2 Corinthians 5:1

Prayer for the Week

Jesus, we love You. You are our hope. Thank You for choosing us! Thank You for planning our destinies before we were ever born. Speak to us from Your Word and through dreams and visions where You would have us go and what You would have us do. We know that life will knock us down, but in You, we can get back up and have hope for the future. We love You, Jesus. Amen.