DEVOTIONAL 08/08/2021
Genesis 40 15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
Genesis 41 1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
Joseph was a child full of promises from God. He obtained favor from his father.
Genesis 37 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Moreover, he received dreams that made his brothers angry and envious.
Genesis 37
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
With such promises at the young age, Joseph, however, had to face many challenges and traumas that would make modern believers faint. He was sold away to a strange land with different language and customs, although the LORD blessed him and made him prosperous in his master’s house. He was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife that he tried to defile her and he was put to prison for her lie. The LORD was with him all along.
Genesis 39 21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Even so, how could Joseph maintain such high hope and full trust on the promises from God, after all that happened to him. Joseph helped the chief butler to interpret the favorable dream while they were in prison. However, the chief butler completely forgot to mention Joseph. Only when the Pharaoh had a dream that needed to be interpreted two years later, this chief butler came to the memory of Joseph.
Genesis 40 23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.
Two full years (Genesis 41 1). What could have run through Joseph’s mind? Doubt and despair? What could he hope for any more since the prison and the dungeon seemed to be his final abode? Who would bring him out of that dark place when his family were so far away and unaware of his location? Would people in the strange land suddenly come to rescue him? All things seem impossible.
Yet, Joseph was definitely the man of faith and prayers and he trusted in the LORD. Despite the hopeless situation, he was steadfast in the faith and God saved him out of that prison and gave him a powerful and respectful position.
Pharaoh had to comment
Genesis 41 38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
When we are stuck in hopeless situations, it is easy to feel desperate. However, as we commit to lead a holy life and as we fully trust in the LORD, soon He will provide an open door to help us through all struggles, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Sam Christian
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Vocabulary and grammar checks were done with the help of Collinsdictionary.com and Google Docs.
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