Last week we saw that God left
Joseph in prison for a couple of years before He released him for
the calling that God had on his life. We saw that there were many
reasons why Joseph had to stay in the prison for a while, reasons
that he didn't understand at the moment. But God knew why and He
wanted the timing to be perfect when Joseph was released. In the
meantime God however blessed Joseph in the prison. We saw that God
works the same way with us too. He knows why we need to stay in
'prison situations' longer than what we deem necessary. He sees the
bigger picture. Fortunately we can rest assured that He knows best
and that He will lead and guide us in the present situation that we
are in.
Now while Joseph was in prison the
chief baker and chief butler offended the Pharaoh. He was so angry
with them that he threw both of them in prison. 'By accident' in
the same prison that Joseph were in.
"And the captain of the guard
charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in
custody for a while." Genesis 40:4
Not only were they in the same
prison as Joseph, but God orchestrated that they had contact with
one another. Then one night both the chief butler and the chief
baker had a dream. These dreams upset them. It upset them so much
that Joseph saw that they were down and asked them why.
"Why do you look so sad today?"
And they said to him, "We each have had a dream and there is no
interpreter of it." Genesis 40:7, 8
It is actually amazing that Joseph
saw that they were sad and that he cared enough to ask them about
it. Who cares about prisoners? Whoever asked about their well fare,
especially in those days? I know prisoners today have more rights,
but back then they had no rights. And yet Joseph cared about them
and asked about their problems. Joseph could have had an attitude
and focused only on his own problems. He could have reasoned that
God had abandoned him and didn't care for him, so why should he
care for others? But Joseph's reaction showed us his caring heart.
He truly cared for other people and decided to help them even
though he himself wasn't experiencing the best time of his life.
Can you imagine if Joseph didn't ask them why they were sad? If he
didn't ask them, they wouldn't have told him, he wouldn't have
interpreted their dreams and the butler wouldn't have told Pharaoh
about him. This one small act of kindness put into motion the
future of Joseph. If he didn't care about them he would most
probably have been in prison for the rest of his life. How sad that
would have been!
Once he showed that he cared and
heard their problem he immediately gave glory to God:
"Do not interpretations belong
to God? Tell them to me please." Genesis 40:8
He didn't tell them that he could
interpret dreams and help them, no; he pointed them towards God,
the only One who could truly help.
We can certainly learn so much from
Joseph. He wasn't wallowing in his own predicament, so
self-absorbed that he didn't have time for anyone else. No, he
reached out, cared and helped where he could. It is truly a
wonderful example to follow. I know when we feel down and when we
feel as if life has dealt us with a nasty blow, the last thing we
want to do is to help others. In fact we might be feeling that
other people should be helping us! Not the other
way around. And yet in those moments it might be just the thing for
you to do. There is rarely anything in life that is so uplifting
than helping someone else. It is not what one wants to hear when
you are down in the dumps, but it is the truth. I know you might
feel that someone must rather notice the situation you are in and
come and help you. But I promise you that God's plan for you is
that you help someone else, even in your time of need. Who knows,
that someone might just be your key to your breakthrough!
In your pain and suffering look
towards others, be a sympathetic ear to listen, draw them closer to
God, reach out and help them as far as you can. Your breakthrough
might be just around the corner. And if your time hasn't come for
that yet, I promise you that God is smiling down on you for helping
others in need. That is His heart of love, always helping, always
caring. And if you walk in that you will be closer to Him than ever
before. What could be better than that?
Father please help me to take my
eyes off from myself and focused on You. Bring those on my path
that I can help and influence for You. I want to make a difference
while I am here on earth. I love You. Amen