Last week we saw that despite
Joseph doing the right thing by not adhering to Potiphar's wife's
lustful requests, he was still thrown into prison. He didn't get
what he deserved. He must have been so despondent. He was simply
doing the right thing, and then things started to go against him.
But then we saw once again how wonderful God is. God gave him favor
with the keeper of the prison and once again everything Joseph did
prospered. God didn't take him out of his situation immediately,
but He gave him favor to go through it.
Why didn't God take him out of this
situation quicker than what He did? We don't know how long he was
in prison. What we do know is that he was 17 when he came to Egypt
and he was 30 when Pharaoh exalted him. So he was 13 years in total
with Potiphar and in the prison. How long with each we do not know.
But one thing we do know is that he was there a minimum of two
years, because the Bible tells us that after he had interpreted the
dreams of the baker and the butler two years passed before Pharaoh
had his dreams (Genesis 41:1). I personally think it was more than
2 years because he had been in prison a while before the dreams of
the baker and the butler were interpreted by Joseph. Any estimate
of how long he was in prison is speculation, but we know it was
years.
Now, once again, why did God leave
him there for years? Well, several reasons. Maybe Joseph had to
mature during that time. Maybe he had to learn lessons that will
help him on his journey further. Maybe God was dealing with him to
forgive his brothers during that time. Maybe Joseph had to
influence some of the prisoners in his time there. Maybe he had to
teach them about God. Maybe the timing wasn't right for him to be
lifted to second in command in Egypt. Maybe the timing hadn't come
that the seven good years and the seven years of famine had to
come. We won't know all the reasons, but what we do know is that
Joseph's life didn't just revolve around himself. There were many
people, even nations to take into account. God sees the whole
picture and moves to the good of all. But in the meantime He didn't
forget about Joseph but helped him there where he was in
prison.
The same is true of us. We might
feel frustrated. We have been following God with all of our hearts
and we have been doing everything we feel that He has led us to do
and yet we feel as if He has still left us in 'prison'. We might
easily lose heart. I think of the situation in South Africa. Some
days it feels as if we are trapped in a prison. Some days it feels
as if everything that could go wrong in a country has. And we feel
that we have prayed and prayed and on the surface it looks as if
nothing is changing, nothing is happening and we feel trapped and
despondent. But we can rest assured that God is moving. He is
orchestrating everything to work for our good. We must remember
that He is looking with a much bigger picture in mind that we can
ever fathom. We don't know who is He working with or what He is
doing in the hearts of others. But what we do know is that He IS
working and that He will look after us in the meantime. We must
just keep looking up and trusting in Him. He will never forsake His
loved ones. Never. He will always be there for us, we needn't
fear.
You might have a personal situation
where you feel trapped in a prison and you feel despondent because
you have prayed and prayed and things seemingly haven't changed.
The same principle applies. God is working. He is working in you,
He is working in people around you and He is working in the broader
environment around you. He is working in it all, orchestrating
everything for your good. You might not see it now, but things are
happening that will bless you and others in the end. Remember God
is working towards the greater good of His Kingdom. He wants people
blessed through you. And if this prison time is maybe a time where
you need to bless others, please do it. Continue to do that. Be a
blessing right there where you are. God will honor that and lift
you higher when the time is right. Just never give up and forsake
the Lord. Stay close to Him. Alongside Him is everything you will
ever want or need.
Father we don't like the prison
times. We would much rather be ruling with Pharaoh, than be down in
the prison like Joseph. But we realize that this life is not just
about us, but about the furtherance of Your Kingdom. Help us to see
beyond our situations and limitation. Help us to see the bigger
picture. In You lie all our answers. We love You and we entrust our
lives to You. Amen