Life is a Marathon, Not a Sprint - Life is a Journey, part 5
Learn how to live with integrity and see past your circumstances. God will use you if you let Him. Only a spiritual marathon runner is able to keep the faith and see the hand of God in his life, as Joseph did.
Through this series, you’ll learn how to live well & enjoy God's promises. You are loved by God; He knows your name. He has a plan for your life. Get helpful advice, encouragement, and hope for a life well lived in 2021 and beyond.
Are you walking in faith and victory? Set your eyes on the promises of God. You only have one life journey; say yes to Jesus. Like Joseph, look to God, past the awful circumstances you may have experienced.
Hold on in faith and trust God.
Your decisions determine your destiny.
We are continuing our series, “Life is a journey.” At times, we are not certain where life’s choices will take us. The decisions we make will determine our physical and spiritual destiny. The decisions we make along the way have consequences, some good, some not so good. But in both cases, we can learn from them and try to make better decisions the next time.
Joseph’s Life fell Apart, but god had a plan.
I shared this scripture from Lamentations last week, but it is worth repeating today. Please know that at times when you are feeling alone or spiritually down, God is with you. His love for you is great and his faithfulness and compassion are new every morning.
‘I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord’ (Lam 3:19-26, NIV).
Joseph knew in his heart that God was with him no matter the circumstance. Joseph chose to remain a person of integrity and faith even as his situation worsened.
I titled this message: “life is a marathon, not a sprint,” so hold on in faith and trust God.
I am not a runner, but I understand that a sprinter trains differently than a marathon runner. A sprinter takes off from the starting line and gives it his all; he wouldn’t be able to keep this pace for a long distance. The marathon runner needs to pace himself because the race is a long, hard race. Each runner trains for their type of race. Both runners run to win. Both run to win the prize.
As we consider walking with Joseph along life’s journey, let me suggest that Joseph lived his life as if he was tackling a spiritual marathon. A spiritual sprinter may be someone like King Saul, Judas, Esau, Demas or Alexander the metalworker. They may have started out strong but dropped out spiritually and fell short of what God desired for each of them.
Joseph’s story was long and difficult:
As his father’s favorite, he was despised by his own brothers.
Joseph could have become discouraged and dropped out of the race when his brothers treated him badly as he was growing up.
He could have dropped out of the race when his brothers stripped him and put him in a dry well.
Joseph could have dropped out of the race when his brothers sold him as a slave.
How about when Potiphar’s wife tempted him to sin?
Or when she lied about Joseph and falsely accused him of something he did not do and he was put in jail?
What about after interpreting the dreams of two jail acquaintances (Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker). Joseph showed the two of them kindness and interpreted their dreams, but Joseph was all but forgotten by the cupbearer, until one day when Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted.
Joseph could have thought: “that’s it. I’m done with God! Life is not fair. God is not fair. Why should I live a life of faith and integrity? It’s done nothing for me; it has only gotten me in more trouble.”
Understand, Joseph did nothing wrong to deserve what he experienced, and then to be put in a dungeon. It might be almost too much for anyone. Joseph could have blamed his father for the jealousy his brothers had developed, because his father, Jacob, displayed more love for Joseph than for all the other sons combined.
“This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him” (Genesis 37:2-4).
Joseph could have blamed his brothers for all his troubles. For how they treated, lied about, and sold him. Joseph could have blamed Potiphar’s wife for lying and falsely accusing him of doing something he did not do, or he might have blamed Potiphar for believing the lie, or at least he could have blamed the cupbearer for forgetting him. Joseph could have easily blamed God for all his pain and suffering that he experienced, but he did not.
Instead, we learn, Joseph continued to live an honest life and trust God in faith.
Joseph maintained his integrity and held onto God.
Joseph’s knowledge and faith in God was all he had, and no one was able to take that away from him.
Joseph understood in time that all he experienced had a divine purpose.
God used it for good. Joseph did not blame God, but rather he acknowledged God took what was intended to do him harm and accomplished good.
Joseph was on a spiritual marathon and he paced himself along the way. He chose to run with God, and he was blessed all the way. In the end, Joseph was raised up to be second in authority of all Egypt, and his family was blessed and would one day increase greatly in numbers.
God had a plan. God took what Joseph’s brothers, and others in Joseph’s life, meant for evil and used it for good.
‘His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them’ (Genesis 50:18-21).
Only a spiritual marathon runner is able to keep the faith and see the hand of God in his life, as Joseph did that day.
From the time Joseph was mistreated by his brothers and put in a dry well (at age 17), until Joseph was made second in authority of all Egypt (at age 30), 13 years had passed. All that time, Joseph chose a life of faith and integrity in God Almighty. Thirteen long years went by, and another two years before Joseph saw his brothers, and even later before he chose to reveal himself to his brothers about who he really was.
In Egypt, not a single person really knew anything about Joseph’s previous life. Everyone back home believed he was dead. But that did not change how Joseph would live or what Joseph believed in his heart. Joseph simply trusted God in every circumstance. What faith. What integrity.
Joseph could be thinking:
What happened to the dream?
How will the dream ever come true?
What else can go wrong?
How much worst can it get?
For 13 long and painful years Joseph found himself in on difficult situation after another:
Sold as a slave.
Working as a slave in Potiphar’s house.
Being falsely accused.
Thrown in jail.
Helping others and getting nothing in return.
Yet, Joseph was blessed in all he did. Potiphar recognized that the Lord was with Joseph. So, he was made overseer of Potiphar’s household, but then things went wrong and Joseph was falsely accused and sent to jail. The jailer quickly saw that the Lord was with Joseph and put him in charge of all the prisoners. The jailer paid no attention to anything that Joseph oversaw.
Years went by. Things had gone from bad to worse. Joseph was still living as a slave. He was a prisoner, living in an terrible dungeon.
His brothers were free.
His accuser was living free.
The one he helped was free.
But Joseph was confined in prison. It was unfair; unjust. He must have wondered: God, what are you doing? I have been faithful. I’ve kept my integrity.
Remember, life is a marathon not a sprint. Joseph was still in the race. Joseph kept his spiritual eye on God and God was with Joseph all along.
Joseph may have felt he was alone in prison, but God’s plan was beginning to come into focus. Soon, Joseph was raised to second in authority of all Egypt. When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph made it clear to all that it was God who revealed the dream to Pharaoh.
In all this, Joseph remained humble and spiritually steadfast. He kept both the faith and pace of a spiritual marathon runner.
Pharaoh’s two dreams were a revelation of what God was about to do. Egypt would experience seven years of plenty, followed by seven lean years. Joseph stored up all he could during those seven years of plenty and he was able to supply all that was needed during the lean years. Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt twice during those seven lean years. Both times, they had to go before Joseph. Neither time did they recognize Joseph, but Joseph recognized them. Joseph did nothing to get even for what they did to him. Instead, Joseph was concerned and interested about his father and his brother, Benjamin.
Joseph will soon reveal his identity to his brothers on their second trip to Egypt, and they became fearful of Joseph because of what they had done to him. But Joseph’s father, Jacob, and all his family travel to Egypt. Now all of Jacobs’s family are living in Egypt, 66 people in all.
Joseph’s actions saved the people of Egypt, along with all his family from perishing due to the famine in the land.
After Joseph’s father died, Joseph’s brothers worried that he would take revenge on them. Listen to Joseph’s response to them.
‘But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them’ (Genesis 50:19-21).
In time, Joseph will die at the age of 110. Joseph gives his brothers and all his family a word of encouragement in Genesis 50. Joseph reassures his family of God’s promise.
‘Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt’ (Genesis 50:24-26).
Friends, God knew what he was doing. God had a plan and He used the jealously of Joseph’s brothers—which was meant for evil—for good. The scenario of Israel growing to be a nation in bondage for 400 years was about to come true. God’s hand had been on Joseph’s life and it will continue to be on the people of God.
Soon, all the world will know that God is God over all the earth. What God told Abram years earlier in Genesis 15 was about to come true.
‘As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.’ (Genesis 15:12-15).
Joseph was used of God because he was a man of faith and integrity. Joseph was faithful, even in a time of great trials, and God blessed Joseph.
What about you?
Will you remain faithful during great trials? Will you be a spiritual marathon runner like Joseph and look to God, past the awful circumstances you may have experienced?
The plan of salvation for you and all mankind began before the foundations of the world. It was first revealed in the Garden of Eden; at the promise of one who would crush the head of the serpent. The promise of the promised messiah and savior is found throughout scripture and was fulfilled in the birth of Christ.
God used Joseph to save his family and to bless countless other generations of God’s people.
Let me speak into your life for a moment.
God will use you if you let Him.
Life is a marathon, a spiritual marathon, not a sprint.
Do not let this COVID virus or the need to shelter-in weigh you down spiritually.
Do not allow some physical, relational, emotional, financial, or some other issue to get you down.
Do not lose heart. Remain faithful. Live a life full of integrity, no matter the trial.
You may not see the light at the end of the trial, but like Joseph remember, God is right there with you.
And even if you are being falsely accused of something you have not done, trust the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.
Remember: you are blessed. Open your spiritual eyes and look past the pain to the blessing, and God. The promise of God is real.
God can and will use you to bless others.
God can and will use you to be a witness of His great love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
God will use you to share the salvation message, and those who come after you will be saved and share the message themselves.
God will use you to speak into your family situation, much like He used Joseph.
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Here’s How to Hold on in Faith and Trust God
Steps you can take right now to live with integrity and see past your circumstances:
Do not stop short.
Do not get discouraged.
Do not toss in the towel.
Run the race set before you.
Trust God.
Become a person of prayer.
Become a person of the Word of God. Knowing God’s Word is a direct path to knowing and growing with God.
Become a person of faith and be faithful in all life’s trials.
Focus on the love of God.
Focus on God’s promises such as: Exodus 14:14, Isaiah 40:29, Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:2, Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 31:8, John 14:27, John 16:33, Philippians 4:19, Philippians 4:6-9, Romans 8:28, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Matthew 11:28-29, Jeremiah 29:11
Understand, if a runner stumbles, they get up and continue to run. You need to do the same in life.
Remember life is a marathon, not a sprint. A spiritual marathon. So, stay spiritually focused and run the race before you. Remember, you are never alone. God is right there with you every step of your life.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Life’s journey is like a spiritual marathon. Live with faith and integrity all the way. Run a steady pace and focus on the Love of God and the finish line. Your reward and crown are waiting.Isaiah 40:31,
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This and other sermons brought to you by Faith Chapel, an Assemblies of God church in Pleasanton, CA.
Genesis 37:2-4, 50:18-21: Learn how to live with integrity and see past your circumstances. God will use you if you let Him. Like a spiritual marathon runner, keep the faith and see the hand of God in your life.