I’ve never met anyone who likes to wait…for anything. Whether it’s faster internet, the line at the grocery store, or for a stoplight. We generally frown on waiting because we assume it’s a waste of time, and that nothing good could come from it. In our relationship with God, we often assume the same thing—that if we’re waiting on God for something, it must mean that God is silent, absent, or idle. However, when we look at countless stories in Scripture, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it’s often in our waiting, in the dark, or the silence of our lives, that God does some of his best work. Such is the case with Joseph.
In Genesis Chapters 39-42, we read about Joseph’s time in Egypt. Although, much has happened to this point. He’s been thrown in a pit to die by his brothers, sold into slavery, and again is wrongfully accused and thrown into jail. It would have been so easy for Joseph to grow bitter, resentful, and become angry at God for his circumstances. This isn’t what he envisioned at all. It would have been easy for Joseph, while he was waiting for life to become normal again, to assume that God was absent. Yet we read this in Genesis 39:3-4: Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.
Make no mistake, God was working in Joseph’s waiting. God was accomplishing his purpose through Joseph not after everything was perfect in his life, but right in the middle of the mess.
Again in Chapter 41:39-40, after Joseph had the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, we hear Pharoah say: “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
Make no mistake, God was working in Joseph’s waiting. God at work again, not when the waiting was over, but right in the midst of it. What might Joseph’s story teach you today about your waiting? Be reminded of this: God’s delay is not his denial. Joseph reminds us that God is always at work, even in the waiting.
Questions for reflection:
- What circumstance have you limited God and assumed He’s not at work in your life simply because you’re waiting?
- Have you ever felt like one bad thing after another keeps happening to you or those you love? What might Joseph’s story show us about how God redeems even terrible or painful situations in our lives?