TWISTS AND TURNS
Genesis 40 – 41
“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.”
“I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.” Joseph was very clear about that and he felt the injustice of his situation. Having a cosy life in Potiphar’s household is probably a good outcome to his forced enslavement by his brothers but having that little comfort snuff out by unjust accusations was hard to swallow.
This time, it would seem that God had managed to create a situation where he could appeal to the Pharaoh and Joseph took advantage of it. Then as time went on it became clear that the cupbearer did not help Joseph.
And then came another opportunity, two years later.
With all the twists and turns that Joseph experienced we can see that nonetheless Joseph was well looked after. He made friends wherever he went and he was valued as a competent manager with integrity. This is something that is easy to miss when we are fixated on the one solution we seek out of our situation: that things go back to the way they were before the calamity.
God, it would seem, is not so straightforward. His thinking and his ways are not so simple. The simplest way is to close our eyes and trust him to navigate us to the destinations he desires for us while just doing our best with honesty and integrity.
“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.”