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.
To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. 2Corinthians 2:16 Last break! The shift was almost over. Then the unthinkable happened, this man appeared out of nowhere wanting to know where the flashlights were kept. As we were on our way to the flashlights, I noticed that this man had a very strong odor. I thought perhaps I could get in front of him so that the smell would not be as strong. That, however, was not to be either since; he insisted on keeping pace and walking right beside me. By the time we got to where the flashlights were; I was practically running just to keep ahead of him. I showed him the flashlights and made a hasty exit. If you’re like me, you shower and even put on perfume or cologne so that you will not stink. We are concerned that the smell coming from our body is not offensive to others. As I write this, I wonder if we are as concerned with our spiritual aroma as ...
Comments
Post a Comment