“In All the world”

“Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ ‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, ‘but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.’” –Genesis 41:15-16 (NIV)

Joseph had just spent two years in prison, for being wrongly accused of trying to seduce Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39). He had been lied to, lied about, rejected, and forgotten. I think the natural reaction here would be to “brown-nose” or “suck up” to Pharaoh. I wouldn’t want to disrespect the king of Egypt and risk being thrown in jail again, or even killed. Yet, Joseph never let his faith waver and he never changed or was ashamed of who he was in God. And God covered that and also covered Pharaoh’s response:

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is not one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’” –Gen. 41:40 (NIV)

Joseph didn’t try to earn respect from Pharaoh, and yet he got it, and then some! Joseph “stuck to his guns” and trusted God and was greatly rewarded for that. By that last line Pharaoh says, I think Pharaoh would have been willing to step under Joseph’s command and authority, were it not for the law, regulations, and traditions of Egypt. Lastly, God used and blessed Joseph so much more than Joseph ever expected. God had given him a little insight of his future in his own dream, many years earlier (Gen. 37). While he was a slave and prisoner, Joseph probably never forgot that, and probably questioned God as to what he was doing there? (Have you ever questioned God? “Why in the world am I here?”) From his dreams, he was expecting to just be above his brothers and parents, yet God had the whole world turn and look to him:

“And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.” –Gen. 41:57 (NIV)

Learn to be Weak…

“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” –Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV)

When I read this verse, I picture a baby learning how to walk, and using the aid of their mother or father’s thumbs for support. The baby’s steps are really wobbly and unstable. If something excites them, the baby might try to speed up, becoming even more unstable. But the parent keeps the control and consistency needed, in order to stay upright and not fall. This is just like God supporting us; we may get distracted by other things, try to speed up towards them because we, as humans, are impatient, but God is always our support system. Even if we don’t realize the support we’re getting…if we get distracted by a job, a relationship, money, a medical or financial need, whatever your “fill-in-the-blank” may be…He’s always supporting us; always there to pull us right back into Him.

I also picture the parent’s face in this scenario; overflowing with love and pride as they watch their little baby stumble around, veering from side to side. God is so proud of us, even though we can’t do very much. We can barely walk without Him, and yet He has a fatherly like proudness for us. A parent doesn’t think less of their child, if he/she can’t automatically walk or talk on their own; rather, they have a deeper love for their child because they are the ones who get to teach this little life how to do things–it’s the exact same with God. No matter how many times we make the stupid mistakes (maybe the same ones over and over again!), God still looks at us with love and pride, because He is the one who gets to teach us to learn through it.

The other thing that strikes me about this picture, is the baby’s willingness to take the support. Have you ever noticed how, usually, a baby will easily accept the support when offered? Some might say, “Well, they just don’t know any better, so it’s not really that big of a deal.” But if they don’t “know better,” then they could have just as easily denied the support, rather than accept it. We have to be willing to accept the support being offered by God. By accepting the fact that we are weak and He is stronger, we position ourselves in such a sweet, intimate place of humility and relationship with God. Don’t be the strong one all the time…allow yourself to accept that you are weak, putting God in control, thus making you stronger in the long-run. And finally, should the baby deny the help offered, what happens? If the strength and balance hasn’t been built up yet, he/she will fall. However, the parent is usually close behind to pick them back up and motivate them to give it another try. If, in a situation, we fall, God will be there to pick us back up…if we let Him. Maybe challenging situations are provided to give us the chance to fall, teaching us that we can’t do it by ourselves. So even though it hurts, falling can potentially be a blessing, giving us the ability to re-route our focus back to God. We will never be 100% stable to conquer things on our own. So rather than waste energy fighting against God and what He could potentially use us for, we should accept the help, using the energy to further His ministry.

“‘It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with chords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.’” –Hosea 11:3-4 (NIV)