Good morning people who stay anchored to the goodness of God.

Genesis 40:14-15 NIV “But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

Genesis 40:23 NIV The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Have you ever felt forgotten or overlooked? It is a horrible place to be in.

In this story from the life of Joseph, I sometimes wonder how many knockbacks one man can face. Joseph had just accurately interpreted a dream for the king’s cupbearer, and it was a positive interpretation for him that came to pass.

Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him to Pharaoh. If someone gave you a prophetic interpretation or word that wonderfully changed your life, I think you would remember it after the fact. But this cupbearer didn’t for two years. This is yet another point of disappointment to a young man who had suffered severely for many years.

Your life might have different circumstances to Joseph, but maybe some of you are feeling overlooked or abandoned. Maybe this part of your story has been going on for a number of years or even decades. I feel for you, I really do.

So, what do we do in these times?

If we fast forward in Joseph’s story, we see that when he is remembered, he continues to accurately interpret dreams and operate in the gift of wisdom by the Spirit of God. He also continues to flourish in the favour of God and the prophetic dream that he had as a young man came to pass. All of this is evidence that he remained confident in God’s plan for his life.

I don’t want to jump ahead too much, but the following verse clearly tells us how Joseph walked through these very difficult circumstances. Take a look:

Genesis 45:8 NIV “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.”

Joseph somehow had an unshakeable conviction that God Almighty was ordering his steps!! As you will see later, he acknowledged man’s involvement in his suffering, but he placed God’s sovereignty in his life above this!

Do you trust God is ordering your steps too as you stay submitted to Him?

Good morning people who are in the perfect position to reflect God’s love.

Pharoah’s cupbearer and baker had dreams while they were in prison. This brought them sadness because they did not know what they meant. Joseph noticed this and asked them what was wrong. Here’s their response and then Joseph’s response to them:

Genesis 40:8 NIV “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

Two important things I want to bring to us today.

Firstly, interpretations of dreams come from the Lord. Prophetic visions, prophetic dreams and prophetic words also come from the Lord. None of these originate from us. They are all about God speaking.

Sometimes I hear people trying to understand the meaning of prophetic visions, dreams or words. I hear people asking others what they think it could mean. I understand that, but it’s not what I believe Father wants to show us from this scripture today.

Joseph rightfully said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” The answer is, “Absolutely they do!” The God who gives the dreams is the only One who knows what they mean.

Secondly, Joseph said, “Tell me your dreams.”

Once again I’m mindful that Joseph is in prison at this time. And yet, despite the injustice he was living through, he knew he was still on kingdom assignment. Joseph was operating in the realm of the Spirit at a time when many would have shut down.

Even in the specific challenges you are going through, God can still speak to you and minister through you. In the midst of your dark valley, I know that God’s grace is sufficient for you to be a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ.

May we all be a reflection of God in every moment. May we all allow the Holy Spirit to minister the Father’s life through us in Jesus’ name.

Good morning people who are moved with the compassion of God.

Genesis 40:5-7 NIV Each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

This is challenging. Here is Joseph in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. If anyone had the right to have a pity-party it was Joseph. He could have understandably been focused on himself, but this is not what we see.

Joseph noticed these two men were dejected. There was a noticeable sadness in them, and Joseph noticed.

But it didn’t stop there. Joseph noticed their countenance and he then acted on what he saw. Joseph asked them what was troubling them.

There have been many times in my life when I have noticed others having a difficult time. When I’m doing great, I respond to them and carefully follow them up. When I’ve been struggling there are times I still respond well by God’s grace, but there have also been plenty of times when I have told myself that I don’t have the capacity right now.

I don’t want to make a formula here or heap condemnation on anyone – myself included. There are times when we are just trying to make it through something. If this is you, my prayer is that Father meets you in a deep and a profound way. May His life bring you healing.

I also pray for all of us to be aware of others even in our challenges. In these times, I pray that we will receive the compassion of God enough to ask others what is happening. Many times this focus on others does us a lot of good too.

Lord, help us to have Your heart for others, yes, even in our own dark valleys.

Good morning people who God can use wherever you find yourself.

Genesis 39:20-23 NIV Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Joseph was given a dream by the Lord about a life that was prosperous. It was a powerful dream and it would have had a sense of YES in young Joseph’s heart. I’m sure he was feeling ready to step straight into “greatness”.

But then his brothers abuse him and betray him. They sold him as a slave and he ended up serving in a foreign land alone and misunderstood. I hear him say, “Surely this is not what you meant Lord?!”

But God poured His favour out on Joseph because of the integrity of Joseph’s heart and life. God blessed him in Potiphar’s house to the point of everything being entrusted into Joseph’s care. What favour! What grace! Surely, this was the turnaround – the greatness prophesied was coming.

And then came the false accusation of rape! And not just that, but it came when he intentionally honoured God in secret and when he fled from temptation. Surely, his master would believe him when he explained it. But no, he ended up in prison, and this was much worse than serving in the house!

What will Joseph do now? Surely, he will give up on God now, right? After all, God had let him down.

But that is not what we see because it is not what Joseph thought (we will see this clearly later in the story of Joseph).

In prison, Joseph purposed to have the same heart as he had in Potiphar’s house. He was faithful to his God and he walked in integrity with people. God was still with him and God poured out more favour on him.

The result was the same in prison as it had been in Potiphar’s house! Everything was entrusted into his hands! Stop and think about this my friends: a prisoner was put in charge of the prison. This doesn’t happen! BUT GOD!

Your present reality is not greater than your ever-present God! I declare that God wants to shine in you and through you, yes, even in the midst of betrayal and pain. May God be glorified through us all as He was through Joseph in prison.  

Good morning people who choose to honour God in every moment and situation.

Genesis 39:16-20a NIV She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

Walking in integrity always honours God, and yet, sometimes it doesn’t go well for us. I know this sounds wrong, but it is important we paint an accurate picture of what it means to follow God and to honour Him.

It was one thing for Potiphar’s wife to accuse Joseph – this was an accurate reflection of her character. But it was another thing altogether for Potiphar to immediately believe his wife’s accusation when he had seen firsthand the integrity and godliness of this young man (it’s important to remember Genesis 39:2-6).

Potiphar believed a false accusation and followed this with immediate imprisonment.  

God’s favour is not seen or measured by the degree of absence of problems. Jesus died on a cross, Paul was stoned and beaten and imprisoned, and most of the disciples were martyred for their faith.

Hebrews 11 paints a vivid picture of people who lived and died in faith. And it is the last three words of the previous sentence that strikes me as most important – they died in faith. In other words, despite all that they went through for honouring God, they still believed in God and believed God when they stepped from this life into eternity.

People can accuse, people can condemn, and people can even cause us great harm and suffering. But people cannot steal our faith, our hope, or our confidence in God! People cannot steal our eternal rewards, in fact, our response in times like Joseph went through can be the very thing that gives us a greater heavenly reward!

May our lives testify about God and His goodness even in the midst of the darkest valleys. May our integrity speak for itself as we refuse to be derailed in our faith or open the door to bitterness and hatred. May Love Himself lead us as we draw upon His strength.