Even in the dark times, don’t forget: God carries the key to every door standing in your way.
According to Genesis 41:1, another two long years crawled by for Joseph. From the day he left Hebron to visit his brothers, it seemed downhill all the way. Hated, betrayed, and sold by his own kin. Bought as a slave for Potiphar’s house. Seduced, framed for attempted rape, and falsely imprisoned. Forgotten by the butler. Nonetheless, engraved over the whole journey are the golden words, “But the Lord was with Joseph.” It reminds me of the statement, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). When everything seems to be going against you, SAY THIS! Imagine if it were the other way around—everyone for you, but God against you. What a horror story that would be! But now things are about to change, and drastically—from prison to palace in one step. After years of languishing, Joseph is an overnight success! Because Pharaoh was having some unsettling dreams, too. When word got around the palace, suddenly Joseph came back to the chief butler’s mind. “I remember my faults this day” (v 9), he said, and told about the remarkable “young Hebrew man” (v 12) he had met in prison who interpreted their dreams. But when Joseph is brought in, he clarifies: “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer” (v 16). God must get the glory! Pharaoh recounts two weird dreams: seven skinny cows eat seven fat ones; seven shriveled stalks consume seven plump heads. Joseph explains: God is warning Pharaoh of a cataclysmic famine that will ravage the whole Mediterranean basin. Seven years of plenty must be utilized to store up for the future. Pharaoh knows God is speaking. Who should oversee this massive preparation? Why, ex-con Joseph of course!