God Works

Joseph, a man who was wrongfully betrayed by his brothers, went to Egypt as a slave.  He found favor with his owner  Potiphar, because Potiphar had seen that the Lord’s hand was upon him.  He was then wrongfully accused of a crime while trying to escape temptation and was thrown into the king’s prison.  Once again he found favor, this time with the prison warden, because the warden could see that the hand of God was upon him.  He then interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker being promised by the baker that he would remember him when he found renewed favor with the king.  It has been two years now and he remains in prison.  Wow,  how would you react if you were in Joseph’s shoes?  I know exactly how I would react.  I would be pretty mad at those people.  I would be calling all those that did me wrong, “jerks”!  Joseph’s reaction was one of servant hood.  He took the situation he was in and showed others that the mighty hand of God was the one really in charge and then he began serving.

In Genesis 41 it tells us the story of Joseph being released from prison.  You can read this on your own but I will give a short account of it here.  Two years had past since the release of the cupbearer when the Pharaoh had a dream and no one could interpret it for him.  At that point the cupbearer remembered Joseph and told the Pharaoh about him.  Joseph was brought from the dungeon, shaved and cleaned up, then presented to the king.  When the Pharaoh told Joseph that he had heard that he could interpret dreams Joseph gave this reply in Genesis 41:16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied. “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”  I would have been a little hesitant to say that I couldn’t do something that the king was asking me to do but he did quickly explain that it was God who would do the interpreting of the dream, not himself.

How often do you find yourself trying to take the glory for something but blame God when it doesn’t go the way it should?  I don’t think any of us ever want to admit that this happens but it does.  I know it has happened in my life anyway.  It is not until we realize that we are so little and God is so big that we finally can realize that EVERYTHING is because of God, the good and the bad alike.  It is important to realize that the bad, as harmful as it is, can really be for the good if we love the Lord.  Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for Theodor those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Many times people read that verse and think that only good will come if you follow God but that is not what the verse says.  This can be seen in the life of Joseph as we look upon all that had happened to him the bad has become good but  he did not travel a smooth straight road, was bumpy, curvy, and had lots of hills maybe even a mountain or two that he had to climb! There were a lot of things that went wrong but even those things were meant for the good.  The old saying that your eyesight is always 20/20 when you look back is so true but for Joseph it was 20/20 looking ahead because he knew that God was in control.

Joseph was called to the Pharaoh and through God he did interpret the dream and because of the wisdom given to him by God, Joseph was put in charge of the entire country of Egypt.  Wow, what an ending!  Oh wait, it is not over yet . . .you need to join me in my next blog to see what else happens in the life of Joseph.  Until then, continue to seek Him and you will surely find Him as you seek Him with all your heart!


Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila