Outside Reading #3- Luke Taylor

Chapter 41
Two full years had passed since Joseph had told the two men about their dreams... TWO MORE FULL YEARS of Joseph still being stuck in prison. Pharaoh had two dreams in which he knew he was worried about and wanted some type of interpretation of. He turned to his magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh turned to those things before he even considered God. I think we all do that a lot in our life. We know we might need something but before we turn to the only one that can really help us through it, God, we decide to try to take matters into our own hands and try to figure it out on our own. I encourage any of you to take a second and really think about that, is the Lord your rock?

Finally the cup bearer, after two very long years, remembers what Joseph had done for him and told the Pharaoh that he could interpret his dreams. Pharaoh seeks Joseph and asks him if he will be capable of interpreting the dreams that he is having. Joseph initially responds saying he cannot, he then follows up that response telling the Pharaoh that he may not be able to, but his God can. BOOM. How sweet is that? Once again, Joseph remains faithful in the Lord and gives him glory for ALL that he does/is going to do. I love that so much because it is such a great reminder that I am really nothing without the Lord, that everything that I do is all through him. Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." and that is such truth, that's why Joseph is able to interpret dreams. Remember to give the glory back to the one that gives you these things!

Joseph tells Pharaoh about his two dreams. They essentially mean that Egypt will have 7 good years of harvest followed with 7 terrible years. If the Pharaoh is not smart/sparing with the good 7 years then things will quickly fall apart and people will turn on him in the bad 7 years. Joseph explains how critical it is for the Pharaoh to take advantage of the first seven years of abundance and how important it will be to save the good harvest of that seven years. Now here is the coolest part. Pharaoh knows that God lives inside Joseph and because of that he desires to trust in that. He appoints Joseph to be in charge of his palace and that all people should be under him in power. Joseph was just a prisoner that the Pharaoh thought less than a toothpick of. Because Joseph put his trust in the Lord big things happened and the Lord rewarded him. WHAT. Seriously, if that isn't encouragement to want to stay faithful in the Lord and continue to run with him them I'm not really sure what is. Seek the Lord and your life will feel so much more whole- it is THAT simple. I love it.

Joseph was 30 years old when he was appointed this position. 13 years ago he was sold by his brothers and a good 10 of that or so he just spent in prison. Despite all of what he had gone through and how hard it was, he never turned his back on the Lord. The 7 years of good harvest passed and Joseph did exactly what the Lord told him in storing it all instead of letting any of it go to waste. The 7 bad years of harvest started and people started to get antsy and beg the Pharaoh for food, he pointed them in Joseph's direction. Just as planned, Joseph sold grain/crops to the people of Egypt. The famine got so bad; however, that people from all over the world started to make trips to Egypt for some food. That is where this chapter ends.

The biggest thing I think we should take away from this is how awesome it really is to get to see how Joseph handles all of the brutal situations in his life and somehow manages to find a way to give it to the Lord and remain in him. I may start to sound like a broken record but we have all been there when times have been hard. Our initial thought is we just want to give up but I encourage you to think of Joseph in that time. Really think about ALL the tough things he went through and remember his heart in those times... he gave it to the Lord. God loves us so much and always has our best interest in mind, even when it may not seem like it at times. If you pursue him then you are living a life worth living. Think about that and really ask yourself if you do find that time with the Lord every day, if you do all things going into it with the mindset that he is WITH you. Are you really living your life for the Lord or just saying you do. Think hard about that.