Success in imprisonment.....(Joseph cont.)
It's been a while. Sorry.
Uncle Bob, Aunt Sylvia, Tim and I went to the Tulip Festival in Washington yesterday to take some pictures and enjoy the scenery......Tim took this picture and though I could have posted one full of great tulip beauty, I thought this was more appropriate for our discussion on Joseph. Afterall, you cannot understand or appreciate beauty until you've seen destruction or the "not-so-pretty" parts of life and yet, this photo has a beauty about it....oh, the irony. Perhaps our lives are a lot like this. Food for thought.....umm, yeah...so...
Joseph was definitely crushed like this flower. He had just entered into prison for a crime he didn't commit and his boss, Potiphar, had lost the best buisness manager money could buy.
Genesis 39:23-40:23 tells the story. Just like 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, God provided some sunlight amidst the painful ordeal...
Everyday in prison must have been a test of Joseph's faith..."will God really sustain me through this?" or "what did I do to deserve this crap!?" must have been his thoughts. However, even in prison, God showed Joseph that He was with him and Joseph recognized His kindness to him. (Gen. 39:21) It was this alone that kept Joseph together and instead of sitting in a place of despair, he took joy in his circumstances! Talk about nutsy-boy! He took so much joy in his circumstances that the prison warden noticed his pleasant attitude and respectful behavior! Through God's faithful provision, the warden promoted Joseph time and time again until Joseph became his right arm man....the head overseer of all the inmates! No doubt this distraction kept Joseph busy so that his thoughts could not veer towards self-pity. He didn't try prozac or commit suicide, seek pleasure or self-fulfillment in order to get through the pickle he was in...instead, he put on the armor of God and some "goody-two shoes" to bless those around him! (Not MY first response to pain, I must say!)
He took notice of the inmates and tried to ease their pain. In Genesis 40, we see Joseph seek out two very downcast inmates...the chief baker and cupbearer. They were the guys who were very close to Pharoah...one made his food and the other would eat/drink it to make sure it hadn't been tainted.
Joseph noticed their sad faces one day and asked why their frowns weren't turned around. (I think I would've said, "Well, DUH, we're in prison, moron! But perhaps Joseph had made it a happier place...) They explained that they had two dreams the night before. Instead of Joseph saying HE could interpret the dreams, he said that GOD would interpret the dream. This is important because there was no way that Joseph could've taken the glory for the interpretation....this is key when we are asked to do something or when we are complimented for the "good" job we did. HE gets all the glory. I have often hoped that my abilities would be ALL my own, but then I am reminded of how they ever got into me in the first place! My works are just filthy rags....it is HE who is Almighty and HE is the giver of good gifts. I am jsut the vessel. Good reminder for me. ;) Anyways, just a sidebar.
So Joseph hears the two dreams and is able to interpret them by the power of the Holy Spirit..... (You can read them in Genesis 40:9-13) so, Joseph shares that the cupbearer will be reinstated to his position in three days (the Pharoah's birthday) and the baker will be hanged on the same day. After the interpretation, Joseph's only request is that the cupbearer mention him to Pharoahwhen he is reinstated so that he can get out of the prison he had been unjustly placed in. Now, Joseph could have lied to the baker in order to gain favor and hopefully keep some happy faces around the prison, but Joseph's true loyalty was to his God and this was how God was going to accomplish His will in Joseph AND in Egypt......(we'll see that later).
Just as Joseph said, the cupbearer went back to his post and the baker was hanged. But the cupbearer did not mention Joseph's name to Pharoah.....the cupbearer forgot. Ooops. That's a costly oops. Poor Joseph.....
So what do we get out of all this? Well, first, God went with Joseph even into prison and His presence made a way of escape for Joseph so that he would not fall into despair. So whatever circumstance we are in, God is always with us if we allow Him to be our source of life...He is a wellspring of life. He will always give us another option in our circumstances than to commit a sin or self-destruct. He's THAT good! Second, when we see His presence, it should spur us on to righteousness in any situation we are in. Our joy from the Lord SHOULD puzzle those around us who are faced with the same or similar circumstances. This is our witness, our window into their spirits so we can give them Jesus. Our sights should be set on the Lord so that we do not miss the downcast faces of those around us who need the joy of the Lord. We have the answer to all their woes! JESUS! Cool. (something for me to work on this week! ;P)
And finally, when we are forgotten and those we have blessed leave us in prisons, what should our reaction be? Should we then give up and realize God has left us? You know the answer, but how will Joseph react? Stay tuned for more adventures in Joseph-land-ia! Thanks for reading and I enjoy your comments!
posted by Bethany @ 5:33 PM
5 Comments:
Bethany, I love your sense of humour and the gentle way you poke fun at yourself. I also love your transparency - it gives us permission to not be perfect and courage to face our own issues that we would rather ignore.
Thanks for making me world famous in your blog!
so...as to your sidebar, if you are giving God the glory for your success, what happens when you screw up?
Hey Paso...are you asking this question because you know the answer and want a discussion or are you in the process of formulating an opinion? ;)
I THINK that there are a lot of times when we act out of our flesh and screwing up is all our fault....and I think there are times when we are doing our best to walk in the Spirit and we still screw up because God allows us to for some reason....perhaps building our character. And then there are other times when it only APPEARS that we've screwed up based on the reactions of those around us, but really we were doing the 'will' of God and like Joseph, were experiencing hell for it. ;) Mmm...I think I will think about that some more! Thanks, Paso!
yeah, what I mean is, if you use language that makes it look like God is the only one responsible for your success, and that you had nothing to do with it, it could be interpreted as the same side of a negative coin, that God is responsible for our failures. It has a lot to do with the language that we use. I think.
If we say that a person has talent, and has been given the opportunity to develop skill, because of school, or family, or something, then that is likely a gift from God. God provides these things, gave us hands, feet, ears, brains etc, so we can thank God for all he has given us. However, we have the will to actually do the things we do, and so despite our own doing of things, and our recognizing that it was us who did it, we are not saying anything negative about God, in fact, by acknowledging our own abilities and gifts, we are acknowledging God, whether we do so verbally or not.
I am asking the question because I think I think differently about how to talk about freedom and God's glory, and because how we talk about God changes how we think about Him.
and because it seems to be a relatively healthy place to have a discussion that will be less likely to get too emotionally involved, like some of our discussions, (which I do enjoy:)
Peace!
I think I have to keep coming back to the scripture that says that anything good in life comes from Him. So regardless of how you "word" it, all PURE "good" comes from God and all PURE "bad" comes from sin/satan. Now you have to have the discussion on what constitutes as good and bad! :) Ugh. I think we read too far into things sometimes and ultimately it IS about Him and what brings Him the most glory. That's our job whether we speak it out or just act it out. It comes down to our motive. Do we do it so we can get recognized for our smarts and efforts or do we do what we do to bring Him glory and show Him off. However, if we receive accolades for a job well done in our talent areas from those who do not believe in God, I think it is imperative to acknowledge then and there that He is the reason for our success. BUT, I think when I succeed or you succeed, we automoatically take into account that if it weren't for God's specific creativity in forming you (or me), that talent would not exist. He does get the glory.
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