Joseph kept his faith, though I’m sure he was a bit confused as to why God would had given him his dreams. Joseph, now a slave, put his whole self into his work. He was living Colossians 3:23. Because of his extraordinary work, Joseph climbed the ladder and was promoted to head servant. Now he was starting to get somewhere. Yeah, he was still a slave, but he was in charge! Along comes Potiphar’s wife.
Betrayed by a liar! If I’d been Joseph I would have been so angry with God. “I was wronged!” How is it that evil doers seem to win and those, in the right, get punished? This was the case for Joseph. Faced with temptation, he made the moral choice – the right choice. (He didn’t buy into the lie that “he deserved this.”) Still he was sentenced to prison. Lower than ever before and even farther from his dreams, Joseph kept believing that God would use him. “And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.”
Of course we all know the rest of the story; Joseph interprets a dream for the cup-bearer, who in-turn forgets his promise to mention Josephs plight to the Pharaoh. Two years pass by. The cup-bearer finally remembers Joseph. Joseph interprets the Pharaohs dreams and is put in charge of Egypt! (That was when Egyptians still liked their leaders.) Joseph was in charge of the whole country! Finally! He made it! He’d “arrived.” “His ship had come in.”
We look at Joseph’s story and see how Joseph took 2 steps forward and 11 steps back. God used some very frustrating circumstances in Joseph’s life before realizing Joseph’s dreams. But the final step in Joseph’s journey is not the only point to his life. Joseph made a big difference EVERYWHERE he was placed. When a slave, he worked as if he was working for the Lord. God used this to make a difference in Potiphar who, “Realized that the Lord was with Joseph.” In the prison “the Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” God also made Himself real to the Pharaoh who “gave Joseph a new name Zaphenath-paneah” which means “God speaks and lives.” All around Joseph’s shattered dreams, people witnessed the hope of God because Joseph honored and believed God.
October 26th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
I love the story of Joseph, especially his comment, "What you intended for evil, God intended for good." Yes, we need to be used where we are…and if faithful, God assigns greater responsibility.
October 26th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Thank you for this post, Alden! Really spoke to my heart tonight!If you are going to compare yourself with someone, try Joseph.–I love that! Yeah, instead of comparing myself with friends or "more successful" people, I should look at Joseph. He's become God's light wherever He was placed. I know God's calling me to become like that too, wherever I am now.Thanks so much for the encouragement! God bless you brother!
October 26th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Joseph is a great reminder that God works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. It's tough, but we realize that, not only does God have a different way for us to live, but He also has a very different definition of success and failure.
October 26th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Thanks Cathy. I appreciate the comment. You too, Bryan.
October 27th, 2011 at 5:04 am
I could have. I would have. I should have. I let go of "dreams" a long time ago, when I found out that other people's needs are more important than my selfish desires. I think Joseph's faith is something we should all strive for. Knowing that God is at work in whatever we do. When circumstances disallow "dreams", it is best to be content with God's purpose – no matter what it is.
October 27th, 2011 at 6:33 am
This really hits home for us right now. Even though we know God is working in our lives, it's still easy to fall into the trap of wanting things to be how WE think they should be, without even realizing we're doing it. This is a good reminder that we need to be still and let God work. Glad we saw this!
October 27th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Krisi, I think we live in an impatient culture. We can't help but be affected by it. More now, than ever before we need patience and perseverance as we serve God exactly where we are and let Him – really let Him – bring the blessing in His time.
November 1st, 2011 at 4:26 am
I think the real challenge is determining if they are "our" dreams versus God's dreams. Joseph knew the dream was from God. His challenge was the patience for God to bring it to fruition in His timing. He followed the journey faithfully which is all God calls and equips us daily to do.
November 1st, 2011 at 9:29 pm
That's true, Tracy. And I wonder sometimes about Joseph and his dreams. I can imagine that he may have been tempted to doubt that his dreams were from God. If he did, it didn't affect his service. He kept serving God even though those dreams were unfulfilled. We recognize here that his belief was on God and not his dream. It's a good example for us to follow, I think.