Read Genesis 40
Key Verse: “23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”
Observation: I have endured some of those awkward moments when I approached someone whom I knew and they knew me, but they had forgotten me. No one likes to be forgotten. All Joseph asked for in return for his interpreting chief cupbearer’s dream was that he would simply remember him once out of prison and possibly help him be released. Sadly, when the cupbearer was restored to his position in Pharaoh’s court he forgot Joseph. Once again, Joseph is basically dumped on when he had done nothing wrong. I can’t imagine how Joseph had to feel. The cupbearer gets escorted out of prison, he hears the news the cupbearer is restored and the baker is put to death, his interpretations of their dreams proved accurate and then he waited, waited for the news that he was going to be released, waited for the cupbearer’s summons, but the news never comes, Joseph was stuck in prison indefinitely. How demoralizing that had to be. Joseph showed kindness in a difficult situation and was forgotten.
Application: Can we have the fortitude of a Joseph? Can we hold onto the promises that God has for us even when the situation looks anything but promising? Sometimes keeping our faith in God is difficult and it will be tried. We get the opportunity to look ahead and we can see that Joseph held on to the belief that God is good, even when the chips were down for him.
Prayer: God, I don’t know if I would have the tenacity of Joseph. I have a feeling I would be wallowing in self-pity by this point. I definitely do not have the character of Joseph but I need to and I want to grow to be more like Joseph.
