Josh Thompson: God's Plan in the Midst of Pain

Have you ever experienced circumstances in your life that were so horrible and heartbreaking that you thought, “no good can come of this”—only to see God work through it to produce something greater?

Meet Josh Thompson, Lead Pastor at Legacy City Church in Los Angeles. In this episode, Josh shares some of the trials in his life that have formed him into the person that he is today, then takes us into the life of the Biblical character he most relates to, the patriarch Joseph, in order to identify just how God can take what the enemy intends for evil and turn it around for His good.

Key Takeaways

On Preaching & Ministry

• Context is everything. Never pull a verse without understanding what comes before and after it.
• The Word convicts or condemns; the pastor's job is just to deliver it faithfully.
• Pleasing people is a trap. Pleasing God is the only sustainable foundation for ministry.

On Faith Through Hardship

• Josh lost his mother at 6, his family home at 18, struggled through infertility, and lost his brother to suicide one month into planting his church, yet each storm deepened rather than destroyed his faith.
• You can't say "God meant it for good" in the middle of the storm. That perspective only becomes possible from the other side.
• Don't waste your pain. Use it to minister, empathize, and point others toward God's redemptive work.

On Joseph

• Joseph's story is a long arc. Sold into slavery as a youth, falsely accused, imprisoned for years, and yet he never stopped trusting God or taking the next right step.
• When Joseph finally had power over his brothers, he chose forgiveness over revenge. That's the gospel in narrative form.
• What others intend for destruction, God can redirect toward restoration.

The Throughline: Joseph's life mirrors Josh's: prolonged suffering, faithfulness in obscurity, and a calling that only makes sense in hindsight. Both stories point to the same truth: God wastes nothing.

Guest Information

Josh Thompson

Legacy City Church

Scripture References

• Genesis 37-50
• Genesis 37:2
• Genesis 41:46
• Genesis 45:6

Chapters

0:00:00 - Introduction

0:00:09 - Sermon Preparation: Josh's Process

0:02:33 - Preaching to Convict or Condemn

0:10:00 - Planting Legacy City Church

0:15:15 - The Barn & Bible Chants

0:21:32 - Coming to Faith: Josh's Early Years

0:31:26 - Storms: Loss, Infertility & Tragedy

0:37:41 - The Story of Joseph

0:54:48 - What You Meant for Evil

1:04:06 - Closing & What's Next

Credits

Host: Aaron Matthew Kaiser

Guest: Josh Thompson

Produced by Crimson Narrative