The Church of Eleven22 – "With God There is Always a Meanwhile – Saturated with Lysa TerKeurst"

Date: September 14, 2025
Host: The Church of Eleven22
Guest Speaker: Lysa TerKeurst

Episode Overview

This episode features acclaimed author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst delivering a richly personal and insightful teaching on the sovereignty of God, drawn from the life of Joseph in the Old Testament. With warmth, humor, and vulnerability, Lysa explores how God works behind the scenes—“the meanwhile”—even during our most painful moments. She encourages the audience to trust God’s timing, surrender their own plans, and be faithful with “one more”—one more person, prayer, or act of faithfulness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Central Lie and the Power of God’s Word

• Lysa’s Opening Perspective (00:48):
  • Praises Pastor Joby and the Eleven22 community.
  • “There’s a lie that the devil would like for you to believe…God’s word is too difficult to understand and too hard to live out.”
  • Lysa emphasizes the importance and accessibility of God’s word, noting this is what renewed her mind and soul.

2. The Story of Joseph: Simultaneous Realities

• Genesis 50:20 as Theme Verse (05:14):

  • “You intended to harm me. But God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

• Two Realities Exist at Once:

  • Lysa unpacks how the Bible doesn’t sugarcoat pain, instead acknowledging both human intention and God’s greater plan. The phrase “but God” becomes a pivotal “linchpin.”

  “I’m convinced that God likes really big buts. And I cannot lie.” — Lysa (06:57)

3. Family Dysfunction Is Universal

• Relating to Biblical Characters (10:27):
  • Lysa points out the dysfunction in Jacob’s family to normalize the real messiness in all families.
  • "If we got to someone, they're like, no, no family dysfunction up in here, honey, you might be the dysfunction.” (12:32)
• The Importance of Joseph's Age (13:06):
  • Emphasizes Joseph’s youth (17) and how immaturity can shape our perspectives and responses.

4. The Pain and Purpose in Joseph’s Journey

• Parallel Events and the Word ‘Meanwhile’ (25:45):
  • “With God, there’s always a meanwhile…It’s like a split screen. Two things are happening at the same time.”
  • Lysa illustrates how, even as Joseph’s father mourns and believes him dead, God is working through the ordeal.

5. Bitterness and Forgiveness

• On Bitterness (20:45):
  • “See, there’s never just a little bit of bitterness…Bitterness wants to be the consuming feeling that you have. It multiplies and leaks out.”
• Joseph’s Process of Forgiveness (1:10:08):
  • Joseph’s hard work to forgive his brothers is highlighted as an essential part of his spiritual development.

6. God’s Development of Character and Calling

• Joseph’s Trials as Preparation (35:30):

  • Each setback—betrayal, false accusation, imprisonment—is framed as shaping Joseph’s character for greater responsibilities.
  • “God is developing his character to match his calling.”

• Not All Promotions Are Glamorous:

  • “He’s about to get a promotion. It’s not going to feel like a promotion. He’s going to get promoted to prison.” (38:28)

7. Disillusionment with God’s Timing

• Attaching Hope to Our Own Outcomes (50:07):

  • Lysa shares personally about the pain of “hope deferred” and the disillusionment that comes from believing God ought to fulfill our plans.

  “When we attach our hope to outcomes of our own making…and we start assuming that we know the plan that God should surely do, we…will try to hold God accountable to the plan that we have made. And when he doesn’t follow our plan, we get incredibly disillusioned.” — Lysa (52:38)

• Two Years in the Dungeon (54:36):

  • “Two full years had passed. Do you know how long two years is?...Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Whew. Been there in that heartsick place.”

8. God’s Timing Is Crucial

• The Cupbearer’s Forgetfulness and God’s Plan (1:01:18):
  • Lysa notes that, had Joseph been released earlier, he would have missed God’s purpose for him in interpreting Pharaoh’s dream and saving a nation.

9. An Encouragement to Faithfulness and ‘Your One More’

• The Upside-Down Value System of Heaven (1:18:05):
  • Lysa reframes our ideas of significance: “Things that look so big here on earth, I think are going to be pretty small in heaven. And the things that seem so small here are going to be pretty big in heaven.”
• Power of Small Acts—The ‘One More’ (1:21:11):
  • Stories about sharing her Bible with a stranger (“Ron”) show how a small, faithful act can ripple across generations.

10. Testimony of Transformation

• Ron’s Story (1:22:30):
  • Lysa’s reluctant act of giving away her treasured Bible led to Ron’s salvation, his family coming to Christ, and a legacy passed to his daughter—who now carries both faith and the physical Bible.
  • Emotional moment as Lysa recounts seeing Ron’s notes added to her own in the Bible, symbolizing generational faithfulness.

11. Invitation to Response and Bravery

• Three Calls to Action (1:29:47):

  • Pray for “your one more.”
  • Surrender your plan to God.
  • Ask for relief from unbelief if your heart has grown cold.

• Being Brave (1:31:15):

  • Lysa closes with an original written encouragement about what it means to be brave: “…You do brave until you become brave. You’ll know love again. You’ll know laughter again…Your life is not a tragedy. It’s a testimony that God is your rock and your redeemer.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Surrender:

  “God is good. God is good to you. God is good to me. And God is good at being God. We don’t have to understand it, we don’t have to like it…Our job is to be obedient to God. God’s job is everything else.” — Lysa (31:55)

• On God’s Faithfulness:

  “Do you see how with God there’s always a meanwhile? God took the rejection of the brothers and used it as a protection of Joseph’s calling.” — Lysa (43:55)

• On Forgiveness and Testimony:

  “…Sometimes the unchangeable can feel so very unforgivable. And Joseph eventually does the hard work to forgive these brothers.” — Lysa (1:10:08)

• On Everyday Significance:

  “You have no idea what God can do with your one more.” — Lysa (1:19:21)

• On Bravery:

  “You do brave things because if you don’t, something will die inside of you…But don’t you dare die over it. You’ve been hurt, but you don’t have to live hurt…Your life is not a tragedy. It’s a testimony.” — Lysa (1:32:50)

Important Timestamps

• 00:48 – Lysa opens and shares her journey at Eleven22.
• 05:14 – Genesis 50:20 and the “but God” moment.
• 10:27 – Family dysfunction in the story of Joseph.
• 25:45 – The word “meanwhile” and living in simultaneous realities.
• 35:30 – Joseph’s growth through hardship.
• 50:07 – Lysa on the danger of hoping in her own plans.
• 54:36 – Joseph’s hope deferred; waiting in the dungeon.
• 1:01:18 – God’s timing, Pharaoh’s dream, and Joseph’s promotion.
• 1:21:11 – Story of giving her Bible to “Ron.”
• 1:29:47 – Three invitations for prayer, surrender, trust.
• 1:32:50 – “Be brave” closing encouragement.

Tone and Language

Lysa speaks with humor, transparency, and deep compassion, blending biblical teaching with her own stories and self-deprecating wit (“I’m convinced that God likes really big buts. And I cannot lie.”). She normalizes the struggles and doubts Christians face and offers practical applications and hope.

Conclusion

This episode is a stirring call to trust in the sovereignty and goodness of God—not just for dramatic “Joseph moments,” but in daily acts of obedience and faithfulness. Lysa’s teaching highlights how God is always at work in the “meanwhile,” turning pain into purpose, and using our small faithfulness to accomplish bigger stories than we imagine. The invitation is clear: pray for your “one more,” surrender your plans, trust God’s timing, and above all, be brave.