Part 2 of 3 – God Is Faithful
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
One of the many benefits we get from reading God’s Word is the example of everyday, regular people just like you and me. Granted, they were in a totally different time period, but the similarities are what make the Biblical examples relevant for today. Just like Joseph and the people of his time, we make a living, cultivate relationships, assimilate to our culture, obey laws, as well as look for ways to make a meaningful contribution to life.
The historical accounts of the people in the Bible show us God’s hand in their lives, and that shows us what we can expect from a personal relationship with Him. These examples equip us to live with hope and faith. They encourage us to keep going and wait on God. They are real examples of real people struggling with real issues.
This week’s blog post will build on Part 1 of last week where we looked at the life of Joseph and the traumatic events that took place in his life. The injustice Joseph suffered at the hands of his brothers and a scorned woman are the exact places where God was at work.
We’ll continue to look at the life of Joseph as it reveals the ordinary as truly extraordinary. Joseph trusted his day-to-day life, as well as his future, to God. In doing so, his difficult experiences became the training ground for him to achieve even more than he could ever have imagined.
Catch Up
Last week, we learned Joseph had been sold into slavery by his ten, older, jealous brothers. Joseph was a slave to an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, Potiphar. While he served, Potiphar took note that everything Joseph put his hand to prospered. Joseph was eventually promoted to a place that allowed him to move freely around the house.
Potiphar wasn’t the only one impressed with the young man. His wife also had her eye on him. After trying several times to seduce him, Joseph openly refused her. Humiliated and angry, she tells her husband that Joseph tried to have sex with her.
Joseph is immediately thrown into jail, but he doesn’t just sit there crying. Even if he did, it must not have been for long, because we read that he got busy and began to help the warden. Everything Joseph put his hand to prospered. This was not lost on the warden who put him in charge of all the prisoners and everything that went on in the jailhouse.
Jailhouse Visitors
Joseph had been in jail for seventeen years when Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker were thrown in jail for offending Pharaoh. While there, they each had dreams they couldn’t understand. Joseph interpreted the dreams and asked the chief cupbearer to remember him when he is reinstated in the palace. (Read why he didn’t ask the chief baker to remember him in Genesis 40:16.)
The dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph had stated. The chief cupbearer was given his old job back but totally forgot about Joseph.
I can appreciate that we’re allowed a glimpse into Joseph’s genuine struggle. I can totally relate when I read that, initially, as Joseph is asking the chief cupbearer to remember him, he pleads his case. He laments about how he was taken from his homeland, sold as a slave, and that he doesn’t belong in this land much less this jail.
I know how he felt. Have you ever felt overlooked? Like you can’t catch a break? Or that you didn’t deserve “this/that”? I would have been in full-on pity-party mode. God would have heard me crying and complaining and telling Him how He needed to fix this and get me out of here.
Pharaoh’s Dream
Two more loooooong years passed. Pharaoh had two dreams he couldn’t make sense of. He called all the magicians and wise men in Egypt, but no one could help him. At that point, the chief cupbearer finally remembered his promise to Joseph and informed Pharaoh that he knew of someone who could help him.
Joseph Leaves Jail
Joseph was shaved, cleaned up, and brought before Pharaoh who put him on the spot to interpret his dreams. In Genesis 41:16 Joseph replied, “It is beyond my power to do this, but God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”
Pharaoh shared his dreams, and Joseph explained that both dreams meant the same thing. God will give the land seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine so severe that the prior years of prosperity would not be remembered.
Joseph gave Pharaoh details on how to prepare for the famine. All that he said needed to be done was received by Pharaoh and his officials. Seeing Joseph’s wisdom, discernment, and favor, Pharaoh put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh. In Genesis 41:40, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
I would have been jumping around proclaiming, it’s about time! I don’t really know if Joseph did that, but I think the protocol of that culture indicates that he probably didn’t. But surely his heart was leaping for joy! (I wonder if they had the thank-you-Jesus dance back in the day. I’m sure they did, because joy is timeless.)
It is such a special experience when everything comes together, when we’re in that flow that agrees with every pore of our being. We’re checking things off our to-do list, we’re on time for meetings, we remember the stuff we’re supposed to send to school, our report receives a favorable response, even though we forgot the grocery list we remember 75% of what was on it, we put that brush to canvas or the pen to paper and capture the perfect emotion. We’re alive, energetic, focused, and accomplished!
That is a pretty amazing position to be in. Can you imagine the pics on Joseph’s FB feed? Or maybe his Instagram? No one was higher in the country other than Pharaoh himself.
Reality Check
What skills do you think are needed to run a palace and manage all the people in the kingdom? You know if you don’t get it right, you’re going back to jail or, worse, beheaded.
I think a stint running Potiphar’s household, followed by seventeen years of handling all the jailhouse responsibilities and accounting for all the prisoners might be perfect preparation to step up and into all of the many facets of running the entire kingdom.
Joseph, who had been a faithful boy, grows into a steadfast young man experiencing the examples God provides throughout his less than perfect conditions. These first hand examples serve him well as he matures into a much wiser man. All that he has endured has prepared him to fulfill the legacy he was created for. He’s gradually approaching hero status.
It’s the same for you and I. God is faithful through anything we experience. People want to help us but they let us down. They say they’ll be there but they leave. We make vows but are unable to fulfill them.
No one has spoken for you the way that Jesus has. He and He alone has made the perfect sacrifice of his life for you. None other is qualified. No one can take you safely from here into eternity other than God. There is non other than Jesus Christ. He’s the One who first loved you. He’ll always be the One who loves you. NO. MATTER. WHAT.
He’s got your back sweet woman! You can count on it!
Now LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Come back next week. You’ll get to see exactly to what extent God restored, renewed, and repositioned Joseph. It’s waaay more than you’ve imagined!
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take what you discover and hold it up to the Light to evaluate it against who God says you are.
- What is something that you are experiencing or have experienced that you do/did not feel you deserved?
- Has it left you different? How?
- In the midst of your circumstance have you felt God’s presence? In what way?
- If you cannot say you felt God was there, in what way did He abandon you?
- Would it be hard to agree that God is always present and is working on your behalf?
Use God’s word to take control over traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts, take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises found in His word.
Print, then cut and carry this Scripture with you and/or post it in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s word says to encourage you and to give you an example of His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
When you read God’s word say to yourself: God is not slow because He wants to frustrate me or harm me. He wants everyone to have time to experience Him and recognize that He cares for them and loves them. God is faithful through everything and anything I will ever experience.
Now LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
