Ok, 'where do I go from here?' The way seems dim, the path, unclear. Yesterday was all mapped out; the future seemed bright. Then, life took a turn, and nothing remained the same. Absolutely nothing. Not only is everything different, it is horrible, dark and lonely.Joseph went through times like that - Joseph, as in the coat of many colors. Jacob's favorite son. Jacob made him a special coat. God spoke to him in dreams about his brothers bowing down and serving him. Joseph had a bright future ahead of him. And then it happened.
His brothers were jealous of him and wanted him dead.
They threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery, later leading their father to believe he was dead
He was bought by Ishmaelites who then sold him to Potipher
He was falsely accused of raping Potipher's wife - when she was the one who was after him
He was put in prison for the crime he didn't commit
He spent years separated from his father, from his family
He felt horrible, alone and in the dark. "God, You said all these wonderful things were going to happen to me. What is going on?"
'Been there! Well, I haven't been in a literal prison. I haven't been accused of crimes. But, I have been in that place of darkness and loneliness. I have been falsely accused and misunderstood. I have felt separated from those I love. I have felt like the dreams I had, flitted away like feathers in the breeze. There have been times when I felt like I was in the bottom of the pit. Yet,in those hours, those dark and lonely hours, I knew who I belonged to.
I knew, and I know that I know that I know. Those seeds planted in my heart, dreams put there by Almighty God, will happen. The God who was with Joseph is my God.
After being in Egypt for 20 years, working with Pharaoh and storing food for a time of famine, Joseph witnessed his dreams. Joseph's brothers came for assistance.They didn't recognize him, but Joseph knew them immediately. They didn't know this man, equal to Pharaoh, who they were bowing down to, was their brother.
Joseph was in the right place, at the right time. He made a difference in Egypt. He made a difference in his family and was there to deliver them - it was the stuff his dreams were made of. It was the dreams his God had given him, many years before.
The story of Joseph....
I think of it when things go awry in my life. When things don't go the way I think they should. I turn my eyes to my God. He is the keeper of my dreams. I can continue in what I know to do, working and occupying; remaining focused on Him, until that day, that fine day, when dreams come true. And they will.
