Morning Moments

Genesis 41

I. The Pharaoh’s Dreams 41:1-7
II. The Pagan Deceivers 41:8

III. The Prisoner's Deliverance 41:9-14

Prison is not always a bad thing for a man/woman. It can be a training ground, an obstacle course, a means of development and discipline of the spirit, soul, and body. I am certainly no suggesting it is a comfortable place or one to be preferred, but I am suggesting that it is sometimes a necessary place and our text shows that it occasionally it is a place for the innocent. THAT is a hard pill to swallow!

We tend to believe that life is not supposed to have "unpleasant" places, but it does. They are for the purpose of tempering us, but they may also be for the purpose of using us in the life or lives of others, as was the case with Joseph.

I have friends in prison that I believe to be there for the sole purpose of reaching and teaching others for Christ. Some are guilty of crimes, but some are not. Some were wrongly convicted and some were unjustly sentenced. Some are where they are because they are poor and some because they are pure. Some are serving because they took life, but once in awhile (and in some places in the world it is not uncommon), some are serving because they shared life - the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our text the butler recounts his experience in prison with its dreams and Joseph's interpretation of those dreams. You have heard me say that God's timing is equal to His truth. This is a prime example. The recollection came at precisely the right time for the right people and the right purpose. Joseph waited while God worked - an important lesson for us all.

We understand that this is historical record and not some fanciful way of teaching us how to interpret dreams. We can see the providential guidance of God in the scheme of things, but we can also see the personal guidance of God in Joseph's life. That is an important lesson for us who are children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Rulers rise and fall under the providential guidance of God, but you and I who are His children are in His personal care at all times. We may suffer, but we suffer to share in His afflictions and enhance our growth and increase eternal reward. That is why we should not complain. Joseph did not!

When Pharaoh heard the testimony of the butler (not a Jew), about a young Jewish man who interpreted dreams, but who made it perfectly clear "It is not in me; God will give me Pharaoh an answer of peace," that was enough for him.

I remember the words of Major Ian Thomas at this point, as he used to say, "Go where you are sent and stay where you are put." That is what Joseph did and God rewarded him for it. When you and I can be the same person whether in a pit, a prison, or a palace, we are people God will use personally to change things providentially.

BLESSINGS!