Last time we saw how God lifted
Joseph up from the lowest of low in prison to the second highest
position in all of Egypt, the most civilized country of the ancient
world. He lifted him up within minutes. But it took thirteen years
of preparation for Joseph before this moment arrived. He could have
become despondent and could have forsaken God during that time, but
he didn't. He continued following God and doing the best he could,
doing good to others in the process. God honored that and lifted
him high at precisely the right moment. And we learned that this
could be true of us as well, we should never lose heart, but we
should continue with our responsibilities as well as doing good to
others and fellowshipping with God on a daily basis. Our turn will
come, when God will use us in the best possible way, honoring His
Name and His Kingdom.
Joseph was now second in command in
Egypt. As exciting as this was, this must have been a very daunting
task. After all he didn't have the proper training for the task up
ahead. He didn't go to a 'university' to study what to do in a
situation like this. He didn't have the experience of running a
country. He didn't know how Pharaoh's palace was run etc. etc. He
was literally thrown into the deep end. But He had God. And that
made all the difference. He did his best and God did the rest:
"So Joseph gathered up all the
food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid
up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the
fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain, as
the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it is
immeasurable." Genesis 41:48, 49
God gave Joseph wisdom and
knowledge to gather the food for the seven years of famine. He
helped him in all the details and Joseph blossomed. He became
powerful in the eyes of the people and Pharaoh sent all the people
to Joseph to deal with:
"So when all the land of Egypt
was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh
said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you,
do." Genesis 41:55
Joseph did such a good job, that
Pharaoh trusted him totally. He had total confidence in him and
that says a lot.
When God appoints you to do a
certain job, He will equip you to be able to do the job as well.
You might feel afraid and inadequate, but God will equip and lead
you. He will not abandon you, but help you throughout the process.
He will never place you in a certain position without being
confident that you would be able to do it.
This reminds me of a saying - "Do
it afraid." If God wants you to do something, do it even if you
feel afraid. It might be that He wants you to forgive someone, or
that He wants you to correct someone, or He wants you to be more
assertive and stand up for yourself or maybe He wants you to expose
wrong doing, or maybe He has led you to a new place or a new job
and He wants you to reach out to others or to change systems etc.
Whatever the case may be, He will lead and guide you. He will. Just
ask wisdom from Him, He promises to give it to you:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach,
and it will be given to him." James 1:5
Father thank you that we can ask
wisdom from You. You led Joseph and he did a sterling job, please
lead us too. Help us to know what is the best thing to do and give
us the courage to do it. We want to honor You and be the best we
can be. Amen