Thanks to Potiphar's wife, Joseph ended up in prison
like a common criminal. Nonetheless, his Heavenly Father was with him: “But
while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him
kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden
put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made
responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to
anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him
success in whatever he did.” (Genesis 39:20b-23 NIV).
Joseph could feel the presence of God. Yes, even in
prison we can have a banquet with God: “You serve me a six-course dinner right
in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with
blessing.” (PS 23-5 MSG)
What had happened? Joseph, the one so loved by
Pothiphar that he had been put in charge of Potiphar’s entire home was now in
prison. But it didn’t matter. Our Heavenly Father was with him. Joseph may not
have understood why this happened, but he kept his eyes on His Father.
While in prison, Joseph was always patient, and he
listened attentively to what people shared with him. Sometime later, Pharaoh
became upset with his chief baker and his cupbearer: “Pharaoh…put them in
custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where
Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he
attended them.” (Gen 40:1b-4 NIV)
Interestingly, it wasn’t too long before each of these
former royal attendants had a dream. They didn't understand their dreams, but
our loving heavenly Father gave them both, through Joseph, an interpretation of
their dreams.
The cupbearer’s dream brought good news: In three
days, Pharaoh would reinstate him in his former position. Unfortunately for the
baker, his dream was not so encouraging. In three days, he would be beheaded
(See Gen. 40:6-19).
Everything happened just as Joseph interpretation of
the dreams dictated. Unfortunately for Joseph, however, “The chief cupbearer…did
not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” (Gen 49:23b NIV); and two full years passed
with no news for him. What was happening?
The thing is, Joseph was not yet ready for what our
God had in mind for him, and if things moved too quickly, there might have been
big mistakes. Joseph’s job during the waiting game was to get closer and closer
to our loving Heavenly Father.
Right now we are trying to sell our large country
home. As the kids have all grown and moved out, the house is too big. Imagine
how depressed we became when after two entire weeks on the market, not a soul
came to visit our home. Upon hearing this information, a friend of my wife’s
from church stated quite simply that no one had come by to see our house because
our new home is not yet ready for us. That one statement served as a powerful
reminder to us that God is in control.
Too often we don't always understand what is happening
during the waiting game; but our job is to simply believe that our Father is in
control. We don't have to worry. God is in control.
Is your Christmas not the best this year? Don't worry,
God is in control, and as long as we let Him, He will be there to guide us.
The two years in prison helped Joseph to trust His
Heavenly Father, and at the right time, he would be freed to continue the road
towards the destiny God had for him. The wait for our house to sell is helping
us to trust in our Heavenly Father as well. It will sell, but only when the time
is right for us to buy our new home. And whatever it is that’s keeping your
Christmas from being the best this year, don’t forget that it is during the wait
that we learn to trust our Heavenly Father. After all, our Father is a God of
hope! Let’s learn to be patient and focus solely on Him.
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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