It isn’t always apparent what the Lord is doing, or what he has planned for us. Certainly, thirteen years prior to this point in the Book of Genesis, Joseph’s life was filled with a bright future. He dreamed of being a ruler, so that even his family would come to bow before him. Soon afterward, however, he was sold into Egypt as a slave, and, although it was apparent that the Lord was with Joseph, it was not apparent what the Lord intended to do with Joseph.
Moreover, if slavery wasn’t bad enough, he was later cast into prison, simply because he sought to honor the Lord in the things he did in life, something that was not very apparent in the lives of any of the other sons of Jacob. Nevertheless, once the Lord had placed Joseph in the position of great authority, in fulfillment of his first dreams, Joseph was able to look back on his life and understand that the Lord knew everything that would take place, and he chose Joseph to become a vehicle of salvation for his family, both for their lives and their wealth. Thus, as Joseph would say later, all these things were meant for good (cp. Genesis 45:5-8; 50:20).
At this point, I’m reminded of a prayer I heard awhile back (don’t know the source). Anyway, a visiting pastor asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast. So, the old farmer began: “Lord, I hate buttermilk.” The pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wondered where this was going. Then, the farmer loudly proclaimed, “Lord, I hate lard” (the pastor was now growing more concerned). Nevertheless, the old-timer continued without missing a beat, “…and Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour.” Once more the pastor opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable; but then the farmer added, “But, Lord, when you mix ‘em all together and bake ‘em in the oven, I do love the warm fresh biscuits they make. So, Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you’re done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen.”
Probably, Joseph wasn’t thinking of warm, fresh biscuits just before Pharaoh called for him, but I do believe he had hope enough to wait for the Lord to be finished with him in his present state and do whatever he planned to do to fulfill his first dreams, which he had dreamed, when he was only seventeen. For thirteen long years Joseph waited; he hoped; when nothing seemed to make any sense, he trusted in the Lord, and so should we.
We may feel helpless, when things aren’t to our liking, but the witness of the Lord’s presence in our lives should be enough to carry us through to better times. God is good! And, we need to, not only believe he is good, but behave ourselves in the times of want that it become apparent to others that we look of his goodness to be realized in our lives. God is good, but this isn’t so in theory. For God to be good, he must be good in reality. His goodness must be brought out physically in our lives for that to be so. Goodness isn’t a theory; it’s a reality, and I’m simple enough to believe God’s goodness becomes a reality/concrete, when we trust and continue to trust him to act out that goodness in our lives, and such a process requires hope, undefeatable hope.
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