What is worse than being hated, rejected, and falsely accused? How about being forgotten, the victim of broken promises. When Joseph was home, his brother’s hated him. Joseph was probably smart enough to realize that fact. When Potiphar's wife accused Joseph, he was probably under no delusion that she truly cared about him. However, when Joseph was stuck in that terrible, horrendous prison, there were two men who were under Joseph’s care. The men were probably friends. Friends can forget about us, strangers can not. He might have been happy if his brother’s had forgotten him. He would have been content if Mrs. Potiphar had forgotten about him. But…. very little hurts more that being forgotten by a friend. They were sad and when Joseph asks, “Why are you so down?” They told him about their dreams. He told them what their dreams meant. In three days, one prisoner would be killed, and the other prisoner would be reinstated. He would again be cupbearer to the king. He asked ONE THING of his friend, tell the king about me. How hard would it be to speak to the king for Joseph? His friend assured Joseph he would talk to the king. TWO years later….. Forgotten by someone he trusted, Joseph is still in prison. We have all felt forgotten by others. We have all been, at times felt the sting of broken promises. Whether it could be helped or not, it still happens, and it hurts when we trust someone, and they let us down. Sometimes, we can even feel forgotten by God. Although, as his children we know that he can NEVER forget us we listen to the lies that Satan whispers in our ears, “Why are you trusting God? He’s forgotten you!” We feel the pain of being ignored and invisible. If you feel forgotten by God, take heart! God has NEVER forgotten anyone…. not now, not ever. Even in this Joseph seems to choose not to become negative but instead to rise above the situation. Instead, He is holding on to the dream God had given him. The dream he had as a child that he would be a ruler. He had no idea how God was working that out, but I think he knew God was working it out. God had not forgotten Joseph and at just the right time, his friend did come through.
I’d like to tell you about a lady I visited yesterday. She is ninety-five years young. She recently moved into nursing home. She asked one of the workers how many times she would have to walk around the outside of the building in order to walk a mile. She said the person told her about ten. Then she leaned in really close and whispered, “I walked around twelve just to be sure I walked a mile.” Hahahaha! What a lady! She loves to keep active, even in a nursing home. As we talked, I saw no anger or bitterness in her speech or actions. There was only a love for God, a heart of compassion, and a sense of humor. She has befriended the one "prickly pear" at the home because as she said, “I have to love her, so she knows Jesus loves her too.” Wow!!! I need to live like that! I want to show that much compassion for those around me that need Jesus. She loved to talk about God and what he was teaching her. ...
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