JOSEPH: Persevering in Faithfulness

Genesis 40-41 Joseph Interprets Dreams

It is easy to get discouraged in life, isn’t it? I am prone to think negatively and defeated thoughts when life circumstances don’t go my way. I can become self-focused and develop an Eeyore mentality if I am not careful.

I guess that is why I find it comforting when someone I respect as an ardent follower of Christ admits to struggling with similar feelings. I shouldn’t be surprised by it because it is very human to have emotional responses, doubts, fears and struggles.

But we are tempted to read about Biblical characters who did amazing things for God and think, “there is no way I could do what they did.” We read the short story and assume they are super believers who don’t struggle the way we do.

I find it easy to read through the story of Joseph and think that being faithful to God in tough circumstances was so easy for him. But we need to caution ourselves not to forget that he is human too.

Joseph would have had bad days too. We read about how Joseph depended on God and rose above the bad days. Consider what he says in Genesis 40:14-15, I’ll paraphrase. “When you see, Pharaoh tell him what I did and get me out of this dump. I don’t deserve this. I didn’t do anything wrong and I want out.” In that we can hear his pain, his emotions that resonate with us all.

If Joseph would have allowed negative feelings, depression and fear to overcome him in prison then we would not be reading about him today. Instead he chose to do something, to stay active and to trust God.

When I feel depressed, I know that I will feel like doing nothing, sleep all day and try to forget things. But knowing myself, I make myself get up, hit the gym, get out of the house and do something so my thoughts and feelings don’t overwhelm my day.

That’s what Joseph did at the end of Genesis 39 when he was in prison; he got to work. It’s because of his faithfulness to God and his work ethic that gave him the opportunity to meet two of Pharaoh’s officers.

Two Dreams Two Years

The cupbearer and the baker did something to offend Pharaoh, so he threw them in prison. While in prison, on the same night, they both had dreams that troubled them. Joseph sought to care for them and asked them what was wrong, so they told him they didn’t understand their dreams.

Joseph used this an opportunity to point them to the one true God and he declared that God has the power to interpret dreams when he asked them, “Don’t all interpretations belong to God?”

They told him their dreams and he rightly interpreted both. The baker would be put to death for his crimes in 3 days. The cupbearer would be returned to Pharaoh’s side in 3 days. Joseph asked the cupbearer to speak kindly of him to Pharaoh that he might be released from prison.

Three days later all these events transpired as Joseph predicted. Yet the cupbearer forgot about Joseph.

Better Late Than Never

Again, we encounter another reason for Joseph to be discouraged. He was forgotten by the cupbearer, but not by God. It’s so important that we remember in times of discouragement that God doesn’t work according to our plans, but his purpose is greater and his ways are deeper then we could imagine.

What if the cupbearer in his excitement from being released from prison, told Pharaoh right away? We don’t know how Pharaoh would have responded. He could have completely dismissed the cupbearer and told him he wanted nothing to do with a Hebrew slave.

But two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams that none of his wise men could interpret. That’s when the cupbearer remembered what Joseph had done for him. Joseph was remembered and was brought before Pharaoh.

God’s Wisdom Trumps Man’s Wisdom

Long story short, Joseph tells Pharaoh that God gives the interpretation of dreams and informs Pharaoh that his dreams were a message from God about what is about to happen. Seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph instructs Pharaoh to assign a wise person to oversee the years of plenty so that they will have enough food for all the land during the years of famine.

Pharaoh sees the wisdom of God in Joseph and appoints him as second in the kingdom. And Joseph did what he always does, he got to work.

From being a betrayed brother sold as a slave, to a unfair imprisonment, to forgotten in jail and now the second most powerful man in the Egyptian empire, Joseph continued to remain faithful to his God.

His story is a reminder to us that God doesn’t call us to do the miraculous, he calls us to be faithful. What we will see is that when we are faithful to the little things, trusting God, remembering Him, giving glory to Him, telling others about Him, surrendering to Him, we will see Him do the miraculous through our lives.