PARTICIPANT GUIDE
What do you do when God puts something in your heart, but it hasn’t happened yet? Joseph waited more than two decades between receiving his dream and fully seeing it come to pass, yet God was working through every season. This week in Entrusted, we’ll discover how to trust God’s timing, develop a long view, and allow God to form us while we wait.
ICE BREAKER
- What is something you hate waiting for?
- Are you naturally patient, or do you usually want things resolved immediately?
- What is the longest you have ever waited for something you were really excited about?
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
Genesis 40:14, 23–41:1 — Joseph is forgotten and waits two more years.
Hebrews 10:35–36 — Persevere so you may receive what God has promised.
2 Timothy 2:3–6 — The soldier, athlete, and farmer.
Galatians 6:9 — Do not grow weary; harvest comes at the proper time.
Genesis 42:6–9 — Joseph’s brothers bow and Joseph remembers his dreams.
Hebrews 10:35–36 — Persevere so you may receive what God has promised.
2 Timothy 2:3–6 — The soldier, athlete, and farmer.
Galatians 6:9 — Do not grow weary; harvest comes at the proper time.
Genesis 42:6–9 — Joseph’s brothers bow and Joseph remembers his dreams.
BIG IDEA
Waiting is not the space between God’s assignments; waiting is one of God’s assignments.
SERMON SUMMARY
Joseph received a dream from God when he was seventeen, but he did not see its fulfillment immediately. Between the dream and fulfillment came betrayal, slavery, false accusation, prison, and years of waiting.
Yet God had not forgotten Joseph.
Joseph’s story reminds us that waiting is not wasted time when God is at work.
Step 1: Trust God’s promise when you don’t understand His timing. God gave Joseph the dream, but He did not give him the calendar. Delay did not mean God had abandoned him.
Step 2: Develop a long view while you wait. Like a soldier, runner, or farmer, we learn to look beyond today’s difficulty. God is often developing something in us while we wait.
Step 3: Remember that the fulfillment is bigger than you. When Joseph’s dream finally came true, he realized God had positioned him not merely for personal success but to save and serve others.
God was glorified, Joseph grew, and others were helped.
Waiting was not an interruption of Joseph’s stewardship.
Waiting was part of the stewardship.
Yet God had not forgotten Joseph.
Joseph’s story reminds us that waiting is not wasted time when God is at work.
Step 1: Trust God’s promise when you don’t understand His timing. God gave Joseph the dream, but He did not give him the calendar. Delay did not mean God had abandoned him.
Step 2: Develop a long view while you wait. Like a soldier, runner, or farmer, we learn to look beyond today’s difficulty. God is often developing something in us while we wait.
Step 3: Remember that the fulfillment is bigger than you. When Joseph’s dream finally came true, he realized God had positioned him not merely for personal success but to save and serve others.
God was glorified, Joseph grew, and others were helped.
Waiting was not an interruption of Joseph’s stewardship.
Waiting was part of the stewardship.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What is something you are currently waiting on God for?
- What makes waiting difficult for you?
- How can you remain faithful when you cannot see what God is doing?
- What might God be developing in you during your current season?
- How could what God is doing in your life ultimately benefit someone else?
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
(Live It Out)
Every morning this week, ask:
“God, what have You entrusted to me today?”
Choose one thing in front of you and faithfully steward it instead of allowing what you are waiting for to consume your attention.
“God, what have You entrusted to me today?”
Choose one thing in front of you and faithfully steward it instead of allowing what you are waiting for to consume your attention.
PRAYER FOCUS
- Ask God for patience and faith while you wait.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to develop perseverance and maturity in you.
- Pray for God to use your life for His glory and the good of others.
DEVOTIONAL PLAN
Memory Verse of the Week
Galatians 6:9
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Day 1 — When God Doesn't Give You the Calendar
Memory Verse of the Week:
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Genesis 41:1
“When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…”
Devotional Thought:
Two Full Years.
Genesis 40 ends with Joseph being forgotten, and Genesis 41 begins with those painful words: “When two full years had passed.” Joseph had already been waiting for years. God gave him a dream when he was seventeen, but He did not give Joseph a calendar. That may be one of the hardest parts of following God. We want the promise and the timeline. We want God to tell us not only what He is doing, but when He is going to do it. Joseph didn’t get that. He had to trust God while sitting in a prison that seemed completely disconnected from the dream God had given him.
Maybe you understand that feeling. You have prayed about something for months or years. You believed God was leading you, but nothing seems to be moving. The door hasn’t opened. The answer hasn’t come. The situation hasn’t changed. Waiting can tempt us to reinterpret what we believed simply because it hasn’t happened quickly. But Joseph’s prison did not cancel God’s promise. Being forgotten by the cupbearer did not mean Joseph had been forgotten by God.
God was working in places Joseph could not see. Pharaoh had not yet dreamed his dream. Egypt had not yet recognized its need. The moment for Joseph’s assignment had not yet arrived. God’s timing is rarely accidental. Faith doesn’t only trust God with what He has promised. Faith learns to trust Him with when.
You may not understand the timing today, but you can trust the One who sees the whole story. God gave Joseph the dream. God knew exactly when the moment would come. And God knows where you are today too.
Reflection Questions:
- What are you currently waiting on God for?
- How has waiting affected the way you think about God’s faithfulness?
- What would trusting God’s timing look like practically this week?
Suggested Reading: Hebrews 10:35–36
Prayer:
Father, help me trust You when I cannot understand Your timing. Guard my heart from discouragement and remind me that Your silence does not mean Your absence. Give me faith to keep obeying while I wait. Amen.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Genesis 41:1
“When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…”
Devotional Thought:
Two Full Years.
Genesis 40 ends with Joseph being forgotten, and Genesis 41 begins with those painful words: “When two full years had passed.” Joseph had already been waiting for years. God gave him a dream when he was seventeen, but He did not give Joseph a calendar. That may be one of the hardest parts of following God. We want the promise and the timeline. We want God to tell us not only what He is doing, but when He is going to do it. Joseph didn’t get that. He had to trust God while sitting in a prison that seemed completely disconnected from the dream God had given him.
Maybe you understand that feeling. You have prayed about something for months or years. You believed God was leading you, but nothing seems to be moving. The door hasn’t opened. The answer hasn’t come. The situation hasn’t changed. Waiting can tempt us to reinterpret what we believed simply because it hasn’t happened quickly. But Joseph’s prison did not cancel God’s promise. Being forgotten by the cupbearer did not mean Joseph had been forgotten by God.
God was working in places Joseph could not see. Pharaoh had not yet dreamed his dream. Egypt had not yet recognized its need. The moment for Joseph’s assignment had not yet arrived. God’s timing is rarely accidental. Faith doesn’t only trust God with what He has promised. Faith learns to trust Him with when.
You may not understand the timing today, but you can trust the One who sees the whole story. God gave Joseph the dream. God knew exactly when the moment would come. And God knows where you are today too.
Reflection Questions:
- What are you currently waiting on God for?
- How has waiting affected the way you think about God’s faithfulness?
- What would trusting God’s timing look like practically this week?
Suggested Reading: Hebrews 10:35–36
Prayer:
Father, help me trust You when I cannot understand Your timing. Guard my heart from discouragement and remind me that Your silence does not mean Your absence. Give me faith to keep obeying while I wait. Amen.
Day 2 — Don't Judge the Story By This Chapter
Memory Verse of the Week:
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Romans 8:25
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Devotional Thought:
One of the greatest dangers in a difficult season is making a permanent conclusion based on a temporary chapter. Joseph could have done that repeatedly. The pit could have convinced him God had abandoned him. Slavery could have convinced him the dream was over. The false accusation could have made him believe faithfulness didn’t matter. Prison could have convinced him his future had disappeared. Being forgotten by the cupbearer could have been the final blow. But none of those chapters were the whole story.
We often see only the page we are standing on. God sees the finished book. That is why waiting requires a long view. Paul describes the Christian life using pictures of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. All three understand something about endurance. A soldier knows one difficult battle does not determine the entire war. A runner knows one painful mile is not the finish line. A farmer knows buried seed does not mean dead seed. Each one sees beyond the present moment.
That is spiritual maturity: learning not to evaluate God’s faithfulness solely by what is happening today. Maybe today feels like a prison chapter. Maybe you are tired. Maybe what God promised seems farther away instead of closer. Don’t make a permanent conclusion about God from a temporary battle.
God can be working even when you cannot see movement. Joseph could not see Pharaoh’s dream coming. He could not see the famine. He could not see his brothers eventually arriving in Egypt. But God could.
Your current chapter matters, but it is not necessarily your final chapter. Keep trusting. Keep serving. Keep obeying. Keep believing. The Author is still writing.
Reflection Questions:
- Where are you tempted to judge your entire story by your current circumstances?
- Which picture speaks most to you right now: soldier, runner, or farmer? Why?
- How could taking a longer view change your attitude this week?
Suggested Reading: 2 Timothy 2:3–6
Prayer:
Lord, give me eyes to see beyond what I am experiencing today. Help me remember that this chapter is not the entire story. Strengthen me to keep walking faithfully until I see what You are doing. Amen.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Romans 8:25
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Devotional Thought:
One of the greatest dangers in a difficult season is making a permanent conclusion based on a temporary chapter. Joseph could have done that repeatedly. The pit could have convinced him God had abandoned him. Slavery could have convinced him the dream was over. The false accusation could have made him believe faithfulness didn’t matter. Prison could have convinced him his future had disappeared. Being forgotten by the cupbearer could have been the final blow. But none of those chapters were the whole story.
We often see only the page we are standing on. God sees the finished book. That is why waiting requires a long view. Paul describes the Christian life using pictures of a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. All three understand something about endurance. A soldier knows one difficult battle does not determine the entire war. A runner knows one painful mile is not the finish line. A farmer knows buried seed does not mean dead seed. Each one sees beyond the present moment.
That is spiritual maturity: learning not to evaluate God’s faithfulness solely by what is happening today. Maybe today feels like a prison chapter. Maybe you are tired. Maybe what God promised seems farther away instead of closer. Don’t make a permanent conclusion about God from a temporary battle.
God can be working even when you cannot see movement. Joseph could not see Pharaoh’s dream coming. He could not see the famine. He could not see his brothers eventually arriving in Egypt. But God could.
Your current chapter matters, but it is not necessarily your final chapter. Keep trusting. Keep serving. Keep obeying. Keep believing. The Author is still writing.
Reflection Questions:
- Where are you tempted to judge your entire story by your current circumstances?
- Which picture speaks most to you right now: soldier, runner, or farmer? Why?
- How could taking a longer view change your attitude this week?
Suggested Reading: 2 Timothy 2:3–6
Prayer:
Lord, give me eyes to see beyond what I am experiencing today. Help me remember that this chapter is not the entire story. Strengthen me to keep walking faithfully until I see what You are doing. Amen.
Day 3 — God is Doing Something in You
Memory Verse of the Week:
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: James 1:3–4
“Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Devotional Thought:
We usually enter a waiting season asking, “God, when are You going to change this?” God may be asking a different question: “What can I change in you while you are here?” Joseph’s waiting years were not empty years. Something was happening in him.
Genesis 40 gives us a beautiful glimpse of that transformation. Joseph is imprisoned unjustly, separated from his family, and carrying his own disappointment. Yet when two other prisoners look discouraged, Joseph notices. He asks them, “Why do you look so sad today?” That is remarkable. Joseph has enough pain of his own, yet he can still see somebody else’s.
The seventeen-year-old Joseph of Genesis 37 is primarily talking about his own dream. By Genesis 40, Joseph is listening to somebody else’s dream and noticing somebody else’s hurt. God was doing something inside Joseph. Waiting was developing compassion. Responsibility was developing wisdom. Adversity was developing endurance. Delay was developing humility.
God wasn’t only preparing Joseph’s destination. God was preparing Joseph.
That may be happening in you too. We naturally focus on the answer we want, the opportunity we are praying for, or the situation we want God to change. But God cares deeply about the person we are becoming while we wait. James says, “Let perseverance finish its work.” Don’t rush the work God wants to do in your heart.
Ask the Holy Spirit today, “What are You developing in me?” Maybe it is patience. Maybe compassion. Maybe humility. Maybe dependence on God. Waiting is not wasted time when God is forming the steward.
The circumstances may not have changed yet. But by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, you can.
Reflection Questions:
- How have previous waiting seasons changed you?
- What might God be developing in you during your current season?
- Is there someone else whose needs God wants you to notice while you wait?
Suggested Reading: Genesis 40:5–8
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, use this season to form Christ in me. Develop whatever needs to grow in my heart, and help me remain sensitive to the people around me even while I am waiting. Make me ready for whatever You entrust to me next. Amen.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: James 1:3–4
“Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Devotional Thought:
We usually enter a waiting season asking, “God, when are You going to change this?” God may be asking a different question: “What can I change in you while you are here?” Joseph’s waiting years were not empty years. Something was happening in him.
Genesis 40 gives us a beautiful glimpse of that transformation. Joseph is imprisoned unjustly, separated from his family, and carrying his own disappointment. Yet when two other prisoners look discouraged, Joseph notices. He asks them, “Why do you look so sad today?” That is remarkable. Joseph has enough pain of his own, yet he can still see somebody else’s.
The seventeen-year-old Joseph of Genesis 37 is primarily talking about his own dream. By Genesis 40, Joseph is listening to somebody else’s dream and noticing somebody else’s hurt. God was doing something inside Joseph. Waiting was developing compassion. Responsibility was developing wisdom. Adversity was developing endurance. Delay was developing humility.
God wasn’t only preparing Joseph’s destination. God was preparing Joseph.
That may be happening in you too. We naturally focus on the answer we want, the opportunity we are praying for, or the situation we want God to change. But God cares deeply about the person we are becoming while we wait. James says, “Let perseverance finish its work.” Don’t rush the work God wants to do in your heart.
Ask the Holy Spirit today, “What are You developing in me?” Maybe it is patience. Maybe compassion. Maybe humility. Maybe dependence on God. Waiting is not wasted time when God is forming the steward.
The circumstances may not have changed yet. But by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, you can.
Reflection Questions:
- How have previous waiting seasons changed you?
- What might God be developing in you during your current season?
- Is there someone else whose needs God wants you to notice while you wait?
Suggested Reading: Genesis 40:5–8
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, use this season to form Christ in me. Develop whatever needs to grow in my heart, and help me remain sensitive to the people around me even while I am waiting. Make me ready for whatever You entrust to me next. Amen.
Day 4 — Don't Grow Weary
Memory Verse of the Week:
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Devotional Thought:
There is a particular kind of tiredness that comes from doing the right thing for a long time without seeing results. You keep praying. You keep serving. You keep giving. You keep showing up. You keep believing. But eventually a question starts creeping into your heart: “Is any of this making a difference?”
Galatians 6:9 speaks directly into that place: “Let us not become weary in doing good.” Notice Scripture doesn’t pretend we never get weary. It warns us what to do when weariness comes: Don’t quit.
Paul uses the picture of a farmer. Farmers understand that harvests require patience. You don’t plant seed Monday morning and become angry Monday afternoon because nothing has grown. There is a process. There are seasons when the most important activity is happening beneath the surface. Roots are developing. Seed is opening. Growth has begun even though nothing is visible yet. The same can be true spiritually.
Your prayers may be working deeper than you know. Your faithfulness may be influencing people you cannot see. Your obedience may be preparing opportunities that have not yet appeared. Joseph spent years faithfully stewarding assignments that appeared unrelated to his dream. Yet every assignment was preparing him. Eventually, the moment came.
“At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
The harvest has a proper time. Not always our preferred time. Not always our expected time. But God knows the proper time.
So today, don’t measure the value of your obedience only by visible results. Do what God has placed in your hands today. Keep planting. Keep praying. Keep serving. Keep believing.
You do not need enough strength for the next twenty years. You need grace to faithfully steward today.
Reflection Questions:
- Where have you become weary in doing good?
- What faithful action is God asking you to continue even without visible results?
- How can you depend on the Holy Spirit instead of your own strength?
Suggested Reading: Galatians 6:7–10
Prayer:
God, strengthen me where I have grown tired. Fill me with Your Spirit and give me grace to keep doing what is right even when I cannot see the results. Help me trust You with the harvest while I remain faithful with the seed. Amen.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Devotional Thought:
There is a particular kind of tiredness that comes from doing the right thing for a long time without seeing results. You keep praying. You keep serving. You keep giving. You keep showing up. You keep believing. But eventually a question starts creeping into your heart: “Is any of this making a difference?”
Galatians 6:9 speaks directly into that place: “Let us not become weary in doing good.” Notice Scripture doesn’t pretend we never get weary. It warns us what to do when weariness comes: Don’t quit.
Paul uses the picture of a farmer. Farmers understand that harvests require patience. You don’t plant seed Monday morning and become angry Monday afternoon because nothing has grown. There is a process. There are seasons when the most important activity is happening beneath the surface. Roots are developing. Seed is opening. Growth has begun even though nothing is visible yet. The same can be true spiritually.
Your prayers may be working deeper than you know. Your faithfulness may be influencing people you cannot see. Your obedience may be preparing opportunities that have not yet appeared. Joseph spent years faithfully stewarding assignments that appeared unrelated to his dream. Yet every assignment was preparing him. Eventually, the moment came.
“At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
The harvest has a proper time. Not always our preferred time. Not always our expected time. But God knows the proper time.
So today, don’t measure the value of your obedience only by visible results. Do what God has placed in your hands today. Keep planting. Keep praying. Keep serving. Keep believing.
You do not need enough strength for the next twenty years. You need grace to faithfully steward today.
Reflection Questions:
- Where have you become weary in doing good?
- What faithful action is God asking you to continue even without visible results?
- How can you depend on the Holy Spirit instead of your own strength?
Suggested Reading: Galatians 6:7–10
Prayer:
God, strengthen me where I have grown tired. Fill me with Your Spirit and give me grace to keep doing what is right even when I cannot see the results. Help me trust You with the harvest while I remain faithful with the seed. Amen.
Day 5 — The Promise was Never Just About You
Memory Verse of the Week:
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Genesis 42:9
“Then he remembered his dreams about them…”
Devotional Thought:
Imagine Joseph standing in Egypt as his brothers bow before him. More than twenty years earlier, he had seen this moment in a dream. Now it was happening. But Joseph was not the same person who had received the dream.
At seventeen, Joseph could easily have interpreted the dream as being about greatness: “Someday my brothers will bow to me.” After years of adversity, waiting, serving, responsibility, and surrender, Joseph finally understood something deeper. The dream wasn’t primarily about people bowing to Joseph. It was about Joseph being positioned to serve people.
Genesis 42 tells us that when Joseph hears his brothers talking about what they had done to him, he turns away and weeps. The fulfillment is not an “I told you so” moment. His heart has changed. Eventually Joseph understands that God had positioned him in Egypt to preserve life.
That is one of the things waiting can do. It purifies our motives. Sometimes God gives us a glimpse of something He wants to do, and we naturally imagine how it will affect us. But God sees farther. His purposes are almost always bigger than our comfort, success, recognition, or fulfillment.
This is stewardship: God’s glory. Our growth. The good of others.
Joseph’s waiting ultimately touched an entire nation and preserved his family. What if the thing you are waiting for is bigger than you realize? What if God is preparing you to encourage someone, lead someone, provide for someone, help someone, or open a door for someone else?
Ask God to enlarge your vision. Don’t simply pray, “God, fulfill Your promise for me.” Pray, “God, fulfill Your purpose through me.”
The greatest fulfillment is not simply receiving what God promised. It is becoming the kind of person God can use for His glory and the good of others.
Reflection Questions:
- How might God’s purpose for your life be bigger than your personal fulfillment?
- Has waiting changed your motives or priorities in any way?
- Who could ultimately benefit from what God is developing in you today?
Suggested Reading: Genesis 45:4–8
Prayer:
Father, make my life about more than me. Use every promise, every season, and every period of waiting for Your glory and the good of others. Prepare me to faithfully steward whatever You place in my hands. Amen.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Scripture: Genesis 42:9
“Then he remembered his dreams about them…”
Devotional Thought:
Imagine Joseph standing in Egypt as his brothers bow before him. More than twenty years earlier, he had seen this moment in a dream. Now it was happening. But Joseph was not the same person who had received the dream.
At seventeen, Joseph could easily have interpreted the dream as being about greatness: “Someday my brothers will bow to me.” After years of adversity, waiting, serving, responsibility, and surrender, Joseph finally understood something deeper. The dream wasn’t primarily about people bowing to Joseph. It was about Joseph being positioned to serve people.
Genesis 42 tells us that when Joseph hears his brothers talking about what they had done to him, he turns away and weeps. The fulfillment is not an “I told you so” moment. His heart has changed. Eventually Joseph understands that God had positioned him in Egypt to preserve life.
That is one of the things waiting can do. It purifies our motives. Sometimes God gives us a glimpse of something He wants to do, and we naturally imagine how it will affect us. But God sees farther. His purposes are almost always bigger than our comfort, success, recognition, or fulfillment.
This is stewardship: God’s glory. Our growth. The good of others.
Joseph’s waiting ultimately touched an entire nation and preserved his family. What if the thing you are waiting for is bigger than you realize? What if God is preparing you to encourage someone, lead someone, provide for someone, help someone, or open a door for someone else?
Ask God to enlarge your vision. Don’t simply pray, “God, fulfill Your promise for me.” Pray, “God, fulfill Your purpose through me.”
The greatest fulfillment is not simply receiving what God promised. It is becoming the kind of person God can use for His glory and the good of others.
Reflection Questions:
- How might God’s purpose for your life be bigger than your personal fulfillment?
- Has waiting changed your motives or priorities in any way?
- Who could ultimately benefit from what God is developing in you today?
Suggested Reading: Genesis 45:4–8
Prayer:
Father, make my life about more than me. Use every promise, every season, and every period of waiting for Your glory and the good of others. Prepare me to faithfully steward whatever You place in my hands. Amen.