I was reading my Bible this morning and came across a very simple verse that made me pause and reflect. I thought I’d share my musings with you all.
Many people know the story, but in case you don’t, I’ll give a very quick rundown. Joseph, son of Jacob, a man faithful to God, was sold into slavery by his older brothers. Through some twists and turns, ups and downs, Joseph ends up in the King’s prison. Two of the King’s workers – the cupbearer and the baker – angered Pharaoh and were sent to prison. They had dreams. Joseph interpreted them correctly and asked the cupbearer to remember him. Joseph didn’t deserve to be in prison and hoped the cupbearer would inform Pharaoh of this injustice.
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Now…here are the two simple verses that made me pause, taken from Genesis 40:23 – 41:1:
The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.
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Okay, I’ve read over these verses many times before, thinking nothing about them. But WOW! Two full years?! Joseph had to wait two more full years – seven hundred and thirty more days in prison – before Pharaoh’s dream reminded the cupbearer of him. That is an incredibly long time to wait.
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It made me wonder… what was Joseph doing during those two years? I wonder if he thought he’d stay in prison forever. I wonder if he thought he would die there, forgotten and alone. I wonder if he got frustrated with God’s timing, wondering why in the world he was still there. I wonder if Joseph had days where he just gave up. It’s interesting to think about, isn’t it? Reading over the verses, the two years float right past our tongue. Yea, okay, so two years later Pharaoh had a dream. But hold up. Two years is a long time.
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Of course this made me think about my own life. In the midst of all this waiting, sometimes I find myself getting discouraged. When will I be able to stay home full time with Brogan, Lord? When will I get published? When will things start happening for me in this writing journey?
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Here’s the thing. I bet God had a lot of work to do with Joseph during those two years. I bet, during those two years, Joseph drew nearer to God. I bet he reached a point in his life where he had to let go of his dreams and just trust God to do His thing, whatever that may be.
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When I step back and gain some distance from my life, I’m able to see God working in me as well. He’s asking me to be still and know that He is God. He’s asking me to trust and to learn patience (something I have very little of). And throughout all this, I can feel Him taking my toes and my hair and stretching me out, growing me as a writer. As a person. I’ve learned SO much over this past year. Heck, I’ve learned SO much over the past month! And through this journey, I’ve grown closer to my maker.
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For whatever reason, God’s asking me to wait. And while this waiting might not end as glorious as Joseph’s (in case you don’t know, he becomes second to Pharaoh himself, a great leader of Egypt), God has a purpose for it.
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Question to ponder: What’s God asking you to wait for today? What are you doing while you wait?
I really wonder too what that would have been like for Joseph…being forgotten? I loved how you worded it…how we read over 2 years so quickly, but how for him it must have felt like a LONG time. I'm waiting on a lot with my writing…I'm waiting on health stuff w/ my dad and I'm waiting on the Lord — b/c when He shows up, it's life-changing.
~ Wendy
Thanks for your prayers and encouragment Jill! I covet them!
Erica – so true! In the midst of our waiting, God is still at work. It's pretty cool to think about!
Beautiful thoughts. I also wonder if he at times felt bitter for going out of his way to help someone who then reached the very goal he hoped to achieve?
Thanks for sharing the Bible, and your own feelings on this path, with us. The way you've devoted yourself to studying the craft, to blogging regularly and the fact that you clearly know what you want tells me your dreams will come true. I'll be praying for you in the meantime!
What a great post, Katie. The beautiful thing is, you're not sitting still, waiting for something to fall into your lap. You're taking steps to be ready for whatever God wants you to do next. Like Joseph, you know that God has a plan, and even though it can feel like you're waiting for it to unfold, it's unfolding each and every day in ways we can't even imagine.
Kelly – I do that a lot too. It's encouraged to know we're not alone in our waiting!
T. Anne – I'm glad you liked the post. What a great attitude and outlook you have!
Lynette – I'm glad I'm not the only one!!
Jody – you are at a new phase of waiting in your life. You have the agent. Now you have to wait for the book deal! It will come, my friend!
I've had to wait for many things and had many, many lean years both in life and in writing. I'm sure God will continue to shape and mold me through plenty more waiting!
This is a good post. Why is it that I want to tell God, the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, creator of the universe who loves me beyond measure and knows what I need so much better than I do, what I want and when I want it, Oh and A La Mode that order please?
When my kids try this with me, I just have to chuckle. I'm sure God does the same with me.
But I hate waiting! 🙂
I love this post. God is speaking to me in the same way. I believe in his word and his promises and his ultimate purpose in me whatever that may be. If hie will isn't to use me as a writer here there's always eternity, right? I'm just waiting on him and in the meantime enjoying the joy he has set before me.
I know, I keep thinking that all this work and waiting will be worth it one day. We'll have our own pub stories and we'll be able to look back and see that it's all happening at the perfect time. But I'm not a big fan of waiting either!
For what it's worth, I always read other authors' websites and most of them say it was 3 yrs later or 5 yrs or (gasp) 10 yrs before they were published. So, it keeps me going, knowing that it didn't happen so soon for anybody else either. I've only been writing seriously for one year now, but still, it seems like forever!
But, I'm sure I still have a lot to learn…here's to lots and lots of patience!
What a story, Sherrinda! Wow. You shouldn't just blog about it. You should write a story about it. Thanks for sharing!! I'm glad you were able to relate to my post! Keep me updated with the impending news! Here's to knowing that somehow, God had a plan through all of it. 🙂
Oh Katie, I can so relate to this post! My husband is a preacher and 3 years ago started a church plant. (We left our church under some difficult circumstances) Our little church never grew and after depleting our savings, retirement, and incruing a ton of debt, we closed the doors to our little church in March. I couldn't understand why, because we had clear and direct leading from the Lord to start the church. I know I have grown and learned sooo much through the last 3 years. It is God who is in control forever and always. He provides. He leads. He makes us wait. He has opened the doors for new employment with a wonderful church not too far (Our kids can stay in the same schools!) and we will know today a definite answer. My heart is full knowing that while I have not understood this maze, I have come to what is hopefully the end of the darkness and confusion and am going to continue the journey full of faith, full of patience, knowing God is God and He is mine. 🙂 Whew, I should blog about this!!!