Downturn

We're in a series of messages called "Turning Points." These are the intersections of life, when God gets our attention and redirects us.

Turning points are the defining moments of our lives. There are many kinds of moments: some good, others bad; some surprising, others planned.

But the bottom line is this: God uses these defining moments—these turning points—to mold and shape us into the people he wants us to be, as long as we are willing to be directed.

We've talked about U-turns, when God turns us completely around to follow his way instead of our way. We've talked about Upturns, when God blesses us so we can be a blessing to others.

Today we're going to look at Downturns—those times when everything seems to go wrong, when plans unravel and fall apart, when you're hit with a major setback or reversal.

Most everyone has experienced disappointment at one time or another—some more than others.

The question is, "How does God use a downturn to turn us in the right direction?" How does a downturn become a turning point?

The simple answer is, "When your life falls apart, you're more likely open to allow God to do something significant."

God can speak in the downturns—perhaps more poignantly than at other times.

C.S. Lewis: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." (The Problem of Pain, 1940).

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, in the midst of unimaginable death and suffering and chaos, God was present—and God was at work. Terrible tragedy became the framework for incredible opportunities and amazing grace.

A Mexican disaster team pulled a 69-year-old woman from the wrecked Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. Some of them wept with joy as Ena Zizi came into view, dust-covered, singing hymns and declaring that her faith as a Catholic had helped her through the ordeal. "I talked only to my boss—God," she said. "And I didn't need any more humans. I'm all right...sort of," she added as medics diagnosed severe dehydration, a dislocated hip, and a broken leg. [http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=25929&lan=eng ]

Joe was a young man who experienced an unbelievable downturn. He was born into a privileged life with great potential—enjoying opportunities and advantages few have. He worked in his father's business where he seemed to be the favorite. Of course, that didn't win him many friends among his peers or the rest of his family.

Joe didn't seem particularly bothered by their opinion of him, though. He even went out of his way to give negative reports on them whenever he got the chance. In this way he raised his own stock while putting them in a bad light. At bonus time, he was given special honor and recognition over all the others. He even received a very stylish jacket for an award.

Joe had everything going for him—privilege, advantage, opportunity, potential. But Joe was also a dreamer, and his dreams caused him to push others a little too hard. He told others about his dreams, almost bragging about his ambitions. It seemed pretty obvious to them that he was aiming for the top spot in the enterprise where he would be in charge of everyone. Even his father who owned the family business was put off by Joe's audacious dreams. He seemed to be positioning himself to take over the family business one day. It's no wonder that the more privileges he got and the more he talked, the more his peers hated him.

Joe's dreams, in fact, may have precipitated Joe's downturn. It was a spectacular fall that took Joe from the top to the bottom. In a series of setbacks, one after another, Joe went down.

You can read the story of Joe's downturn in Genesis 37. It started when his brothers in the family shepherding business found a chance to get rid of Joe—or Joseph, as he's more commonly known. They would have liked to have killed him but settled for selling him as a slave to some traders traveling through. So Joseph went from favored status to slave in Egypt—a desert and maybe two weeks of hard travel away from home.

But slavery was only the first setback. Next, while working as a slave, he was accused of something he didn't do. The evidence was cooked; he was framed by a powerful woman; and he was thrown into prison, where he sat for some time. You can read about this downturn in Genesis 39.

Joseph's prison could not compare to prisons in our time—with exercise yards for fresh air, community rooms with color TV, libraries, decent food, real beds, indoor plumbing, and medical care. Joseph was placed in a dungeon—dark, dank, and dirty. Rats and vermin were common. It was not a happy place.

But Joe's story doesn't end there in prison. In fact, it gets worse. His downfall still wasn't complete.

One day in the prison, Joseph got a glimmer of hope. One of the other prisoners was being released to go back to his job as Pharaoh's cupbearer. Joseph pleaded with him, "Remember me and show me kindness," he said. "Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon" (Gen 40:14-15).

But Joseph's hope was dashed because the cupbearer did not remember him. He completely forgot about him! And Joseph continued to sit, rotting away in prison. And every day he sat there, it looked less and less likely that he would ever get out.

He'd been betrayed by his brothers. He'd been framed by a vindictive woman. He'd been sentenced to prison without a chance to defend himself. And then he'd been forgotten by a fellow prisoner. Joseph experienced a colossal downturn—his fortunes had come crashing down.

I wonder, as Joseph sat there in prison if his hope gradually drained out of his soul. I wonder if he recalled his dreams. If he remembered them, I wonder if he gave up on his dreams. I wonder if he had moments where doubt and discouragement threatened to consume him.

What can we learn from hearing a story like Joseph's? Why did God include Joe's story in the Bible? How does it help us to hear about his incredible fall, his horrific downturn?

Whenever you experience a downturn, you can learn what Joseph learned from his experience.

1. Downturns show us God in new ways.

In his troubles, Joseph came to see that God was always with him.

Even in our downturns, God does not leave us alone.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deut 31:8)

If we see God going before us, if we see God being with us, if we see him never leaving us nor forsaking us—then we don't have to be afraid. We don't have to be discouraged!

Wherever Joseph was, whatever he experienced, no matter how low he sank or how bad things got, there was one constant: God was with him!

• As a slave, living in the house of his Egyptian master, "The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered" (Gen 39:2).
• As a prisoner, when he was unfairly accused and sentenced, "the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden" (Gen 39:21).
• Joseph couldn't always change his circumstances, but he could enjoy God's presence with him wherever he was.

The next time you feel like you've been abandoned—like you've been hung out to dry—remember that God never leaves you and he never forsakes you! You might not be able to change your circumstances, but you can take comfort in knowing that God is with you in your troubles.

When we see God in a new light—his faithfulness in the midst of our downturns and disappointments, then we also can learn to trust God more.

When the Apostle Paul was dealing with a painful time in his life, he heard God say, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So Paul learned to see God differently! He was able to say, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9-10).

Not only do troubles help us see God better, they also help us see ourselves and our situations better!

2. Downturns make us better.

In two ways: (1) Setbacks become motivation for improvement. Like my grandmother used to tell me, "If at first you don't succeed...you're about normal."

And (2) God can do more with our failures than with our successes: We are more moldable, more responsive to change when we've suffered defeat.

Everyone makes mistakes, but some allow their mistakes to make them great. They learn from them.

If you've watched any of the Olympics this week, you've seen several examples of this. Four years ago, several of the outstanding American contenders crashed or fell in their quest for an Olympic medal. But their failures only served to energize them, to help them focus, to motivate them to work all the harder. And now, four years later, they turned their mistakes into gold.

Evan Lysacek fell on the ice, humiliated; Bode Miller, despite great expectations, won nothing in Torino; and Lindsey Vonn's fall kept her from winning too.

We can get extra motivation from our troubles so we can grow and improve, but even more importantly, we can take our troubles to the Lord so he can work in us to make us better.

Because Joseph saw that God was with him, he learned to make the best of his circumstances. Even in a bad situation, he could still make the most of it because he knew it wasn't just him. He knew God was at work in his life.

² The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered... ³ When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, ⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned (Gen 39:2-4).

²⁰ ...while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did (Gen 39:20-23).

God allows downturns so we can see his work. Trouble and disappointment open a window so we can see God's power more clearly—so we can know him better and enjoy a greater victory.

That's when we discover that God's greatest work often occurs in our darkest moments. We see that God's overcoming power can be seen more clearly against the backdrop of our greatest failures.

Like the song says: I've had many tears and sorrows. I've had questions for tomorrow. There've been times I didn't know right from wrong. But if I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that he could solve them; I wouldn't know what faith in God could do. Through it all...I've learned to trust in Jesus... I've learned to trust in God... I've learned to depend upon his Word.

During a time of national downturn—dealing with terrible recession, threats from enemies, and even natural disasters—the OT prophet Habakkuk was able to declare his trust and confidence in the Lord:

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. ¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength... (Hab 3:17-19).

3. Downturns provide perspective.

One specific way downturns make us better is that they can help us see things differently. They can give us a new point of view.

Downturns put life into perspective. They keep us humble. They show us our weakness more clearly so we can see God's power more dramatically.

Joseph's downturn gave him a new perspective. Before, his brothers hated him; he alienated those around him; he would give bad reports about others; he would flaunt his own ambitions. But that was before.

After his downturn, Joseph gained a whole new perspective. He cried at the joy of being reunited with his brothers (Gen 45:2). He wasn't angry with them at all. In fact, he tried to console them.

...do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you (Gen 45:5).

He had a new perspective on what they had done. He didn't blame them because he had learned that God had been in control all along!

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Gen 50:20).

Joseph was humbled when he lost it all. But his downturn became the means God used to give him a whole new view of life, a whole new perspective so he could be effective in the place God wanted to use him.

Joseph gained a new perspective and became a better person because he spent time as a slave and languished away in prison for years. Joseph became a better leader because he learned to serve.

God wants to teach us to put our troubles in perspective—and to see how he can use troubles and disappointments to do good in us and through us!

¹¹ ...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Phil 4:11-13).

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Ps 34:18, NASB).

...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28).

...now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Pet 1:6-7).

4. Downturns release God's grace.

When troubles come, disappointment is natural. Grace is supernatural.

When things don't go the way we'd hoped, disappointment is only natural.

• When we experience a major setback or a downturn, it's not hard to become discouraged.
• When someone betrays us or cheats us, it's not hard to become angry and upset.
• When some terrible wrong ruins our hopes or dashes our dreams, it's easy to feel sorry for ourselves.
• When life is unfair, it's easy to complain about injustice.
• When things go bad, it's easy to become bitter.

Maybe that's why the Bible warns us, "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (Heb 12:15).

Here in one verse are two warnings—which I think are two sides of the same coin: (1) Don't miss God's grace; (2) Don't allow a bitter root to grow.

These warnings are related because if you don't take care of one, then you open the door to the other. In other words, If you miss God's grace, then you leave room for bitterness to grow.

• God's grace is like healing salve on a wound. Grace is the treatment that prevents infection in the soul. God's grace is "Bactine" for your spirit.
• Grace—applied like ointment to the hurts, disappointments, and injustices of life—can protect you from spiritual infection.
• Grace protects you from becoming bitter. Grace heals your damaged emotions.
• Most importantly, grace makes it possible for good to come out of bad. Grace makes it possible for God to work through your setbacks and downturns.

But if you miss God's grace—if your soul is not healed by grace—then a bitter root can grow up "to cause trouble and defile many."

• If you fail to apply God's healing grace to your disappointments, setbacks, and downturns, then you can expect "trouble." You can expect many to be "defiled."
• The word "defile" in the original language of the NT meant "to stain" or "to pollute or contaminate." Without grace as a healing salve to fight the infection caused life's injuries, our outlook on life will become polluted. Contaminated.
• Without grace, our contaminated attitudes affect our relationships. Without grace, our relationships become polluted and contaminated. They're not just "strained" relationships, they're "stained" relationships. Stained with all sorts of ugly dysfunction—poison words, toxic attitudes, bitter feelings of resentment.
• Without grace to heal us from life's downturns, our lives and our relationships become "defiled."

When we deal with a downturn, it is essential that we apply God's grace to the situation so no bitter root grows up in our hearts.

In our downturns, we can learn from Joseph:

• Don't be bitter! Pour God's grace into your wounds. Downturns can be a turning point to bring us closer to God.
• Learn to trust God. Downturns can show us God in new ways—how we can trust him more.
• Look at life in a new light. Downturns can provide a healthy perspective.
• Make the most of your situation. Downturns can motivate us to grow—to become better.

Will you surrender your life to God? Will you give him your mistakes? Your troubles? Will you allow God to work through your disappointments? Your failures? And, perhaps even more difficult, will you let him have your successes as well as your setbacks?