Bible in a Year, Day 28: Joseph in Prison and a God Who Remembers

Today's reading

Today's reading is Genesis 40, where Joseph interprets the dreams of two fellow prisoners and then waits to be remembered.

Yet the chief cup bearer didn’t remember Joseph, but forgot him.

(Genesis 40:23, WEB)

Reflection

Joseph was in prison for a crime he did not commit. As Pastor Jack Graham put it, "There's not 1 negative thing said about Joseph in the scriptures." He was faithful to God and God was faithful to him, and yet he was suffering.

Even there, Joseph kept serving. When Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker woke up shaken by their dreams, he did not treat their trouble as someone else's problem. He asked them what was wrong. In Pastor Graham's words, "He was interested in other people." Then Joseph pointed them to God, telling them that "interpretation belongs to God."

Joseph told each man the truth, even though one answer was hard. The cupbearer would be restored, and the baker would hang. Three days later it happened just as Joseph had said. He had asked the cupbearer to remember him, and his hope soared. But the chief cupbearer forgot him, and Joseph waited two more years.

Those years could look like wasted time. Pastor Graham sees them differently: God was still shaping and refining Joseph and preparing him to save nations. It was Joseph's faithfulness in the pit and in the prison that would eventually raise him to the palace.

If you feel forgotten today, Pastor Graham points you to Romans 8:

What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?

(Romans 8:31-32, WEB)

He reminds us that God is moving us through life at his pace and timing. "God's timing is always perfect." And if you are waiting on something you believe God has promised, he says, "He's preparing you for something greater than you can imagine."

Take it with you

• Where are you waiting right now? Name it honestly to God.
• Who near you is carrying something heavy? Like Joseph, you can ask what is wrong and listen.
• What would it look like to stay faithful in this season instead of waiting for it to end?

Prayer

Lord, you know my name and you know where I am. When I feel forgotten, remind me that you are for me. Help me to serve the people around me even while I wait, and to give you the credit for every good thing I can do. I trust your timing, even when it is slower than I hoped. Prepare me for what you have in mind, which is greater than I can imagine. Amen.