Genesis 40:15

New International Version (NIV)

 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

 For Encouragement

The two men brokered no formal agreement between them. It was rather an emotional request  from Joseph to the cupbearer. Courtesy demands the beneficiary of a favor to return it at an appropriate time in the future. However, the chief cupbearer conveniently forgot Joseph when Pharoah restored him to his former position as Joseph rightly predicted from his dream (Gen. 40:23). Consider this, however.

What would Joseph have gained from an immediate remembrance by the cupbearer before Pharoah? Think about a young Hebrew ex-convict in a large foreign city like Egypt. Where does he go, and what does he do?

Someone may argue he could have returned to the land of the Hebrews, as Joseph called it. True, but where would it have hanged the promise of his dreams, and his exploits in Egypt as we know them? What would have happened to the Egyptians and his family during those catastrophic seven years of famine in Egypt and Canaan? Where would the movement of the redemption agenda of the Most High have swayed? Have you ever thought about its ultimate effect on you and me—our redemption?

God has a purpose for everything. Joseph was His chosen instrument for the redemption of his family and their incubation into a nation to fulfill His redemption plan for the world. Joseph’s dreams revealed his future situation with his family in a foreign land, but none of the family members understood it—including himself. 

The hatred of the brothers and the Ishmaelites became his divine conduit to Egypt, an event the Lord had hinted to Abraham some years back (15:13).

His sale on the slave market and life in Potiphar’s house was the continuation of his journey towards the king’s palace. In all of that, do not miss the gracious words along the path: “The Lord was with Joseph” (39:2, 21). The Lord was with him, protecting and guiding His chosen servant towards His desired goal and purpose (Isa 55:8-11). 

Joseph deserved the worst and most notorious prison in Egypt for the crime Mrs. Portiphar claimed he had committed, so how did he end up in the executive prison? Divine orchestration, my friend!

The prison warden saw in Joseph what the Lord had given him from his childhood—divine favor! His brothers didn’t see his coat of many colors in that light, but the warden could not miss it, even as his slave.

“So, the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison and was made responsible for all that was done there” (Gen. 39:22).

The story of our lives is like a journey. One with seasons of different stopovers. Some stopovers come with tough and heart-wrenching experiences — events you want to obliterate from your memory. However, they are all pieces that complete the portrait of your life. Fighting to suppress your disheartening challenges could make the journey longer and more arduous. Your victory, however, will become more meaningful and invigorating when you piece them all together and prayerfully seek the purpose of God in every experience.

So, keep faith as Joseph did, and honor God as the divine Guide of your journey. He knows what He is doing, as we will see in tomorrow’s message.

Shalom