Get the appDreaming With Joseph: 7 Day Devotional On GreatnessSample
Now in prison, Joseph is once again placed into a position of authority. He is given responsibility over the prisoners and God blesses his time there. Joseph serves well even as he looks for any way to get out.
Eventually, an opportunity arises. Two of the Pharaoh’s officials are sent to prison and put under Joseph’s care. During their time there they each have a dream. The two men are terrified by their situation, and the dreams only act to make them more curious and cautious about their future.
Joseph offers his help. To our knowledge, he has never interpreted a dream before. But one thing is clear – he has stayed faithful to God. All the trials so far have worked to make him an obedient servant of God, one who trusts Him fully even when his entire world is falling apart. So by faith, Joseph offers his insight to the two men.
The cup bearer's dream showed that he would be restored to his previous position while the baker would be killed. After the interpretation, Joseph begs them to remember him and help him get out of prison. Three days pass and Joseph’s words turn out to be true. The cup bearer returns to his work while the baker is put to death.
The chapter ends on a gray note. In all the joy of being set free and restored, the cup bearer forgot about Joseph. And so for two more years, Joseph is confined to prison where he must wait and pray and wonder what God is up to.
If you were to search for what theme is more prevalent in the Old Testament than any other, I would cast my vote on the theme of waiting.
Abraham waited for children. Job waited for an answer. Israel waited for a home. Over and over again, we see God make extraordinary promises to His people, and then make them wait years and years before they come true.
I wonder how many nights Joseph fell asleep remembering the dreams he had as a boy all those years ago. Waiting has a way of causing us to doubt the promises of God. Joseph probably began to ask himself some hard questions. Did those dreams even happen? Maybe I misunderstood them? Maybe those dreams weren’t meant for me?
Waiting is one of the most difficult parts of the Christian life. But it can also be one of the most rewarding because it is in the wait that our faith is truly exercised. Every day that passed with Joseph still in prison worked towards building his faith in God. And our waiting can do the same for us if we let it.
I can’t tell you why God may be making you wait, but I can say, in faith, that He has your best interest in mind. God knows what He is doing with your story. Trust Him.
Takeaway: Waiting on God is a necessary part of growing our faith.
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About this Plan
Joseph’s story begins like so many of ours: in a place off the beaten path, surrounded by people who did not believe the magnitude of his calling. However, all of that changed. Joseph was thrust into a grand narrative where God raised him up, not only so that he could fulfill his calling, but also so that he could bless all of those who doubted him along the way.
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