It’s All Part of the Plot

This experience would have been enough to break most people, but Joseph, even in prison, was such an outstanding figure that the jailer placed him over the other prisoners and made him responsible for all that was done there. Wild!

And here’s the thing: even as a prisoner himself, Joseph was caring and attentive enough to notice when the cupbearer and baker were not in good spirits, and the interpretation of their dreams was what would eventually bring him before Pharaoh.

Two years later, Joseph stood before Pharaoh and interpreted his dream (after Mr Cupbearer finally remembered him — like seriously, dude?). Now, he could have stopped there, and Pharaoh would likely have been so pleased that he would have given him a decent reward, freed him from prison, and returned him to his homeland with pomp and circumstance, or maybe even allowed him to serve as one of the wise men in the court.

But the years of experience Joseph had gained from managing Potiphar’s household and overseeing the prisoners while he was in jail had taught him to provide solutions to problems. And provide a solution he did. His solution would save not just Egypt, but the surrounding nations from starvation and enrich the kingdom in the process. It was this wisdom and insight that made Pharaoh appoint a Hebrew prisoner as the second most powerful man in all of Egypt.

Joseph would later come to realise that whether it was being sold into slavery or thrown into prison, he was always in the will of God. He could not foresee the famine that would happen or God’s plan to use him to bring his entire family to Egypt as honoured guests, but he never let that stop him from faithfully managing whatever was committed to him.

So I learned from this that a difficult place is not necessarily the wrong place. It may look like every step you have taken so far has led you from one dire situation to the next, and you start to wonder whether you have any good sense at all.

I was watching Triumph30 morning devotion with Pastor Emmanuel Iren some days ago, and it made me reflect deeply on Joseph’s story

The story we can quickly read in a few chapters (Genesis 37-50) was, in reality, Joseph spending years wondering what unpardonable sin he committed that made his brothers sell him into slavery. How many nights must he have had nightmares recalling his own screams and pleas from the bottom of the well his brothers put him in, while they sat down to eat, unfazed?

Then, pulling himself together, he worked hard and served faithfully in Potiphar’s house for years, with such a deftness of skill, strength of character, and high success rate that Potiphar completely entrusted the management of his household to him. That was a peak career achievement for a slave! When he finally thought things were on the up and up, he was falsely accused of making an attempt on his master’s wife and thrown into jail.

Think about how crushed he must have felt. The reason he was in jail was that he said no to adultery and told his master’s wife, “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Admirable, right? God should have applauded him, and his reward for that should have been blessings upon blessings, right? right?? So how did he end up in JAIL????

Questions come to mind like, Do I actually know what I’m doing? Did I make the wrong decision? How did I end up here again? (You may in fact lack good sense, but that's a topic for another day. Let's assume for now that you have made the best decisions you could with the information you had available, and with purity of conscience).

Don’t let it stop you from showing up, being diligent, loving people, serving others, and doing what God has called you to do. Solve the problems of those around you. Keep your integrity when compromise would be easier.

One day you will look back and see how your lowest moments and the experiences you once wished you could erase from memory built in you the strength of character and skills needed for where God was taking you.

I wish you the very best! Hugs!

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