Genesis 40:23: “Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

October 25th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Joseph was put in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and was left there for 10 years. When we see how long God allowed him to endure prison, it should help us not to be so surprised by periods of delay in our own lives. In fact, Scripture is filled with believers dealing with disappointment, frustration, and all kinds of hardship. We read that Abraham had to wait 25 years to receive the son God promised him. Moses spent 40 years on the backside of the desert, tending sheep before finally getting the opportunity, at age 80, to lead the children of Israel out of captivity from Egypt. Then he spent another 40 years just leading Israel around in the desert. God worked while His people were waiting, strengthening them in adversity and showing them what was in their own hearts.

We are prepared for service in the same way Joseph, Abraham, and Moses were: in faith, hope, and love. In God’s economy, these things all require time. That is why we find so many Scriptures about waiting and not being anxious, as Paul wrote:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6–7)

To be anxious means to be pulled in different directions. Our hopes pull us one way and our fears pull us another way. Spiritually, worry is wrong thinking in the mind and wrong feelings in the heart about circumstances, people, and things—mostly about our heavenly Father’s love and protection. Sometimes it feels like we are being pulled apart, but God is carefully controlling the pressure to achieve just the right result in us. We must trust Him and His love for us.

“LORD, please help us to walk in faith, trusting You, the living God, to handle everything that concerns us today.”