"Hey! What's the big idea? I did everything you told me to and this is what I get?! It's so unfair! Where are you? Can you hear me?" Does that sound familiar?
We talked about the life of Joseph at church and I took note of these verses because I found comfort and assurance in them. His story is just one of the many stories in the Bible where God showed His sovereignty.
"Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (Forget), saying, 'God made me forget all my hardships and my parental home.' He named his second son Ephraim (Double Prosperity), saying, 'God has prospered me in the land of my sorrow.'" Genesis 41:51-52 (The Message)
All of us go through sufferings in this life, but though many are our troubles, God has promised to be there with us. I never realized and appreciated the depth of this truth until I've gone through valleys in my life. You see, if you don't humble yourself, God will humble you and
mind you He will, really.
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:11
Joseph, like us, went through the humbling process as well. Imagine receiving a dream when he was still a teenager and arrogantly telling his parents and siblings that they will bow down to him (Genesis 37:5-10). After that we know that he was sold by his own brothers, then landed in the house of Potiphar. God did prosper him there. But that's not the end of his sufferings.
"With me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am..." Genesis 39:8-9 (Emphasis mine)
See that bit of arrogance there? Well, yes he feared the Lord that's why he didn't give in to temptation. But again for standing for what is right, he was thrown to prison. What was that all about? I think it is just right to say that God wasn't done with him yet. But in spite of this set back, God was still right there with him.
"The LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden." Genesis 39:21
For showing kindness to his fellow men, in return, he was forgotten.
"The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him." Genesis 40:23
Can you imagine the frustrations he might have felt that time? If I were in his shoes I would probably be kicking and screaming already. But God has a plan.
"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrew 10:35-36
He knows what He is doing. He has everything figured out already. God spoke to Pharaoh in his dreams, but didn't know how to interpret it. (See, God does speak even to unbelievers and backsliders so let's not lose hope in praying for our loved ones) Now this time the cup bearer remembered Joseph (Genesis 41:9-13). God has already set up people ahead of us to do something good for us, yes, even people we don't know. How's that possible? It's God's favor upon us.
After all the pains and sufferings Joseph went through all those years, God's promise to him came to pass even when it already looked impossible and hopeless in the natural. His dreams when he was just a teenager...
"We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." Genesis 37:7
"I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." Genesis 37:9
... finally came to pass.
"Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground." Genesis 42:6
Are you going through valleys in your life too? If we surrender everything to God, if we would put our trust in Him, He will also make us forget our troubles and hardships; and prosper us in the land of our sorrow. He makes everything beautiful in his time.
Be patient. The best is yet to come.
