Forgotten, but not abandoned. (Joseph continued....)

Have you ever felt left out, forgotten, betrayed or maybe someone promised you something very important and they never followed through? How'd you feel? No doubt that Joseph felt the same way following the cupbearers promise to put in a 'good word' for him to Pharoah. The cupbearer was probably overwhelmed with joy to be reinstated to his former position and refused to bring himself to think about prison life where Joseph unjustly stayed.
At this point, Joseph could've come unglued, torn to shreds with anger and frustration towards God and the ungreatful cupbearer. But he didn't. Or so the Bible doesn't say so. He continued to trust God for the fulfillment of His promises to him. He may had been forgotten, but certainly not abandoned. For two years, Joseph waited in prison for God's liberty. And then it came. (Genesis 41)
God caused Pharoah to have a dream. A nutsy dream about 7 fat and sleek cows being eaten up by 7 scrawny cows and the scrawny cows looked scrawny even after they ingested the fat cows! If that didn't trouble Pharoah enough, he had another dream where 7 ears of corn all thick and juicy get swept away by the wind only to reveal 7 gross and withered ears of corn. This was enough to wake poor Pharoah up with a start and begin asking questions. Who could interpret this dream? What did it mean? Pharoah consulted his heavy-duty sorcerers and they were stumped. They obviously didn't realize that when GOD gives the dreams, only GOD can interpret them! So Pharoah had to go looking for someone to interpret this crazy dream. THIS is where things get interesting....ya know that cupbearer really came through afterall.
As Pharoah was eating his curds and whey, along came the cupbearer noticing Pharoah was deep in thought. He asked what troubled his master and after hearing his dilemma remembered the Hebrew....JOSEPH!! Pharoah demanded Joseph be brought to him to interpret this dream. Imagine the look on Joseph's face and the joy in his heart as he got a shave, some new clothes and a warm bath!! Boy, was he in for a treat!
So Pharoah said to Joseph (Genesis 41:15+), "So you interpret dreams, eh? I got a doozy for ya!" (Bethany paraphrased). And this is where you KNOW Joseph's been intimate with God....he says, "It ain't me, Mr. Pharoah, sir. It's God. He gives the dreams and He interprets them. He'll tell you what you need to know...shoot." So Pharoah gives the load and immediately Joseph hears the God of his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He shares the interpretation. Seven years of plenty....then seven years of famine. The famine will be so severe that everyone will forget about the 7 years of plenty and complaining will come. Then Joseph takes it a step further and shares the wisdom of God with Pharoah. He says to appoint a chief administrator to discern the needs of the community and appoint workers to set up storehouses for each town to put away 1/5 of all the produce for the next 7 years so that when the famine comes, Egypt will not stave to death. Whoa, was Pharoah impressed or what!? Pharoah's response is BIGGER than any other deal Joseph could have mustered up in himself! God is sooo good! Pharoah asks JOSEPH to be the go-to guy! He recognizes God's handiwork in the situation and immediately places Joseph in a high place of authority. Cool. More on that front later....I have to cook dinner for the kids now.
But, God is soooo faithful with the deepest desires of our hearts. He lets us get to the very end of ourselves, to the very depths of our suffering in order that He may pick us up and take us to glory the way HE wants to. His plans are so much better and bigger than our own. I have to remember this. Again, Joseph had a "right" to get bitter about the whole cupbearer bit, but he chose to trust God's plans for him....like Jeremiah 29:11. Joseph relied so heavily on the Lord to guide his every step. No doubt he was shaking in his longjohns when he spoke to Pharoah, but he told Pharoah the truth of God's message and without fear gave wisdom to a man who was lord over him. Sometimes God gives us a message to give to those around us who may be in a place of higher authority or status. It is then that we need to rely on the Holy Spirit for the sensitivity in relaying the message with humbleness and grace and WITHOUT dumbing down the message. When God's got our back, He is faithful to bring about all the good things He has for us. Cool. Stay tuned for more Joseph-ian adventures!