if you take a close look at joseph's life in genesis 40-41-42, you discover how his faith played a part in his dream becoming a reality. how do you get dreams to come true? that’s what we’re asking. how do dreams come true? how do dreams happen?
it’s more than just sitting back and letting GOD’s dreams happen to you. HE’s going to let your faith – HE’s going to demand that your faith – play a part in those dreams happening. there are some practical faith steps that you and i can see in joseph's life that let us know what to do when we get right to the edge of a dream. how do you receive a dream?
first of all. joseph had wisdom. he knew the right time to act. wisdom enabled him to act at the right time. remember joseph’s in prison and GOD does something.
genesis 40.1-4 (msg), as time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of egypt crossed their master, the king of egypt. pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker…
these were very high, exalted positions. it doesn’t sound like much to us but if you had anything to do with food for the pharaoh you were a very trusted person because one of the main ways you could kill a pharaoh in that day was to poison the food. these were very trusted people.
…and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where joseph was held. the captain of the guard assigned joseph to see to their needs.
what joseph does in relationship to them is very important. verses 4-7. after they had been in custody for a while, the king’s cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. when joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. so he asked them, the two officials of pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, “what’s wrong? why the long faces?”
doesn’t that amaze you? if i were joseph and i saw somebody else unhappy, with all i’d been through, i’d think, “great! somebody else can be miserable with me!” but here’s somebody who recognizes somebody else’s need and continues to care for people in prison. he continues to serve people in prison.
i think he may have had some wisdom here. he knew who these people were. it may be more than just his niceness. he knew that GOD may be able to use his relationship with them in some way and GOD is going to do that.
just a thought from the front porch…
2 comments:
Very nice. Seems like Joseph learned what Paul wrote from the jail that he had learned, and that was to be content in his circumstances. Only a person who was content within himself could see the need and pain of another at such a time.
thanks for your thought, angela. very good and insightful.
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