If I put myself in Joseph’s shoes, he must have felt forgotten – by friends, family, even God. Sold into slavery by his own brothers then betrayed by his owner’s wife, no one who knew or cared about him even knew he was there. There was only one guy who promised to help, a former cellmate. And once the cellmate got out of jail, it says, even he “never gave him another thought; he forgot all about Joseph” (Genesis 40:23). That’s pretty forgotten.
Joseph sat like this, rotting in jail for two years. But (as we say in our house when playing a game of hearts) “fortunes can change.” And Joseph’s did. Before the next chapter in Joseph’s life was over, he had become Pharaoh’s right hand man. And a husband and father. His son’s names tell a story all their own.
Here’s the thing: even though everyone else may forget – our sorrow, our struggle, our needs, our chains – God never does. Never.
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:15-16.
- Paul Abbott
Joseph who grew up so privileged was now in the dungeons of life because when temptation knocked he fled from it. Rejected, despised, alone and confused, he might have wondered what those dreams were all about. Like the beautiful tapestry that hides the mesh of tangled cords and threads on the underside, so it is with us. The pain of loneliness, the being forgotten, the grief, the loss, these are all threads that can become just ugly tangles or they can be used to weave a stronger faith. I believe Joseph drew strength from those dreams of his youth, that in his moments of darkness he saw "the light at the end of the tunnel" by remembering the dreams of his youth. Tested by adversities yes, but in the end his God given dreams did come true!
ReplyDeletePaul, I was wishing this blog had a "like" button similar to Facebook … because your post was definitely worth "liking." Wonderfully said :)
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