Genesis 41:14-57
Dear RTB’ers,
Joseph and Pharaoh. Joseph is living a yo-yo life. He’s up, he’s down, he’s up, he’s down, he’s up. He is his father’s favorite; he is hated by his brothers and gets sold off to Potiphar; he is in charge of all of Potiphar’s house and fields; he gets sent to jail; he is put in charge of his fellow prisoners and interprets their dreams; his hopes of release are dashed as he endures an “unending” prison sentence; he is released, interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, and becomes “prime minister” of all of Egypt. He’s UP!
So we might wonder about Joseph’s reactions to those ups and downs. Sadly, we see him prideful and arrogant with his multi-colored tunic and relating his dreams to his brothers and parents. Then we sense what must have been a change in spirit as he is put in charge of all that Potiphar owns. We see him take the moral high ground in response to Potiphar’s wife’s advances – and it costs him dearly with prison time. But it’s this time in prison where we see how Joseph dealt with his down times: But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed. (Genesis 39:21-23) The LORD was working in his life and in the lives of those around him – and Joseph recognized it: “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” (Genesis 40:8b) He maintained his faith in God and had confidence in God working things out. So his down time was still “up”!
I suspect that many (if not most) of us have had our own yo-yo life. We’re up, we’re down, we’re up… What is our response to those ups and downs? When we’re up, do we give glory and thanks to God for all His provision? And equally important, when we’re down, do we look up? Wherein lies our hope, our confident deliverance? When we’re down, look up!!
Blessings!