what to do when you don't know what to do

the last part of the week ended well, including amazing messages from andy stanley and charles swindoll, and also our own president dr. easely.
i had the chance to work all of the three cameras on the floor, including camera 1 which is used to project on two giant screens on stage-this way, people in the back are able to see who is speaking up close. it was a little intimidating, but so much fun to take directions in my headset and find interesting shots of the band as they played. the stool i was on was also a little rocky, and right in the middle aisle of moody church, in the middle right where everyone could see me...and i could envision myself falling off the stool, causing the camera to go crashing down on some poor unsuspecting moody alumnist...
thankfully it never happened.
and things went great
i learned a lot
had fun
and am amazed at God-where he has brought me-though the old struggles of fear and failure still creep up, it is such a joy to serve in this way, and bring the things that i love to do before Him as an act of worship

during the session that andy stanley spoke, i wasn't working on a camera, and was able to really absorb what he was saying. he spoke about the life of joseph-and the things he said struck a chord deep in my heart

live your life as one who is confident that God is with them...
i never want to look back on my life (probably a difficult time in my life) and wonder "man, what would have happened had i been confident that God was with me?"

I'll just put down a few of the notes that i took...hopefully they make sense
Gen 39
What to do when you don't know what to do
The Lord was with joseph...the text states this several times...after joseph is sold into slavery
and the Lord was with him

after he is falsley accused of rape
and the Lord was with him

after he is put into prison
the Lord was with him...

many times we view God's silence as meaning he is inactive, and joseph went through a lot-but God was with him, and joseph was part of God's plan leading all the way up to Christ. joseph died and never knew what God was fully up to...

Gen 41:6...pharoah (who is viewed as "god" by the egyptians...) has a dream and asks joseph to interpret it...joseph says that he cannot do it, but God can tell pharoah what the dream means
this shows a lot about joseph's perspective

-for one, joseph is acknowledging that it is God who works-and also, joseph is showing that he is confident that God is with him...and he is reliant on God
-not only that, but he is unafraid to proclaim who the True God is to the falsly viewed god phaoroah..

what will my response be? will i leverage God's gifts to me for my sake and glory or for His sake and His glory? how will i respond if i am confident in God? will i use my dysfunctions as an excuse to look away from Him? joseph was bold, weak, and willing to say and do whatever God had for him...

what to do when we don't know what to do...
what did joseph do?

he did what anyone would do if they were confident that God was with them

founder's week-
i walk down to moody church, arriving 45 minutes early each time. instead of sitting in the balcony or in the seats on the floor, i walk to a room that is next to backstage. the room i enter reminds me of those NASA scenes from apollo 13. people are buzzing around, checking mics, checking iris (light exposure) levels, headsets, a ready supply of chocolate (caramel, milk, crispy), peanuts, water and soda, breakfast pastries in the a.m., pizza in the p.m., computer monitors, tv monitors, powerpoint, cameras, tripods, fun, technical...yet strangely relaxed. mon night a friend and i were in charge of iris levels...and that segment will eventually be put on satellite tv, which we will appear in the credits...(which really isn't that big of a deal...but it is our first credited thing, so it makes me smile...) tonight i was able to work camera 3 from the balcony (which i previously had touched like one time for less than five minutes...) you learn as you go...and i guess spontaneouty (how do you spell that word???) is a big part.
i had so much fun, learned so much, and i guess it just adds affirmation that i am studying the right things, doing the right major...

i am currently reading genesis 22 where abraham is told to sacrifice isaac...as i was reading, i noticed how many times (13 times) the phrase, "his son," or "his only son" is used in the passage. throughout the journey to the mountain where the sacrifice will take place those words constantly remind

his son
his only son

and abraham had amazing faith

God had promised abraham a son...and he believed God...and it was credited to him as righteousness
then God tells him to take that son (that promise) and sacrifice him
so abraham took the three day journey...each step probably heavier than the first...his son carrying the wood on which he would be sacrificed
yet as they set out, abraham tells his servants who will remain behind
"WE will worship and then WE will return..."
isaac asks his father where the offering will come from
and abraham replies confidently that God would Himself provide the sacrifice

faith

knowing and believing the promises of God

being willing
trusting
surrendering

walking forward...sometimes crawling,
unfaltering
despite the unknown

to sacrifice those promises before God
knowing that HE WOULD PROVIDE

YAHWEH YIREH (the Lord will provide)

abraham binds isaac to the alter

he has the knife, poised to slaughter his son...his only son

But God intervened, he provided the sacrifice...a ram in the thicket...

the Lord will provide
His Son...His only Son

every gift that God gives...it is so we may give Him the glory...laying it before Him as an act of worship
surrender
faith

and it is only an act of His grace through which we accomplish this