Last week Joseph went to prison, even though he was innocent. And we talked about how God is with us . . . no matter WHERE we are.
This week is not so much about our geography as it is about our time . . . or should we say . . . God’s timing?
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m not so worried about where I am as I’m worried about when He’s going to do something about it!!
Here’s what’s happening with Joseph today.
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Genesis 40:1-4 / Amplified Bible
Now some time later the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, Egypt’s king.
2 And Pharaoh was angry with his officers, the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers.
3 He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.
4 And the captain of the guard put them in Joseph’s charge, and he served them; and they continued in custody for some time.
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I’m not a Bible scholar, but here’s a couple of things I noticed.
It says “some time later,” so apparently by the time today’s events took place, Joseph has already been in prison for a while. And we know from later verses in Genesis that it’s at least two more years before Pharoah lets Joseph out of prison.
We learn from Genesis that Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt at age 17 and that he was 30 when Pharoah let him out of prison. I don’t know how many of those years he spent in Potiphar’s household and how many he spent in prison, but it was 13 years total. Too long for me in either place, how about you?
Something else I noticed in today’s verses is that it looks like the prison is possibly part of Potiphar’s house . . . where earlier Joseph was put in charge of the household and where the wife falsely accused him of attempted rape. And Potiphar (the captain of the guard from Genesis 39:1) is possibly the same captain of the guard that plays a part in today’s events.
Here are the truths I found:
1. God’s timing is not our timing. I know that’s a “duh!” But sometimes I need reminding. I believe God’s timing is more event-driven while I’m more clock-driven and calendar-driven.
2. God can and will bring to us the exact connections we need. It doesn’t matter where we find ourselves–even if we think we’re “out of commission.” And it doesn’t matter how elevated their status and how lowly we believe ours is, God will bring us the connections necessary to fulfill His destiny in our lives.
3. The same person who dismissed/demoted us still knows the excellence of our work and God can use them to make connections for us that we can’t even imagine! Assuming this is the same captain of the guard (see above), he KNEW from experience that Joseph would take excellent care of these two high-level prisoners.
4. Our job is to do our best work no matter who our boss or client is. Because we never know who THEY know that might need us one day . . . or that we might need to fulfill our God-given destiny.
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Application Questions:
– What timing am I struggling with right now?
– What events could God be waiting on?
– Which ones are under my control?
– So what do I need to do?
– In what areas do I feel “out of commission?”
– What connections do I see as “impossible” but necessary to fulfill my destiny?
– What can I do to make them more “possible?”
– Who has demoted or dismissed me?
– What kind of work did I do for them?
– What important connections could they make for me?