Wait for the Right Time
“He restored the chief cup bearer to his position again, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cup bearer didn’t remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (Genesis 40:21-23 WEB)
We all want our season of promotion and blessedness to come immediately. However, before that season, there is usually a quiet one of preparation.
In Joseph’s life, he was in prison for a crime he did not commit. After interpreting the dreams of two royal subjects, Joseph told them to remember him before Pharaoh, but the chief butler forgot about Joseph.
Just like that, two years went by. Can you imagine how disappointed Joseph must have felt? He might have thought, “Am I ever getting out of this prison, or will I spend my whole life in here?”
You may be feeling the same way. Your circumstances may be like a prison whereby you are existing, but not truly living the “life more abundantly” that Jesus died for you to have.
For a person who has a sickness, the abundant life would look like a healthy body that can do anything without feeling weakness or pain.
For a person who is lonely, the abundant life would look like having a spouse that he can share his life with.
For a person who is poor and in debt, the abundant life would look like having all debts paid and having more than enough savings to even be a blessing to others.
Was Joseph destined to stay in prison for the rest of his life? Let’s read the story:
“At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river...In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh. Then the chief cup bearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my faults today. Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker. We dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he interpreted. As he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.” Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”” ;Genesis 41:1, 8-16 WEB)
So two years after interpreting the chief butler’s dream, Joseph was freed from prison and brought before Pharaoh.
The moment of Pharaoh having the two prophetic dreams signaled God’s appointed time for Joseph’s deliverance. Those two dreams were Joseph’s door of hope in the midst of his trouble. The gift of interpreting dreams was the key in Joseph’s hand.
But why did God take so long before freeing Joseph? Technically, He could have given the dream to Pharaoh earlier than that.
“But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, he was responsible for it. The keeper of the prison didn’t look after anything that was under his hand, because Yahweh was with him; and that which he did, Yahweh made it prosper.” (Genesis 39:21-23 WEB)
In the prison, Joseph was put in charge of the other prisoners—it was a leadership role. During this time of quiet, mundane, routine living, God was sculpting Joseph into a man fit to be the prime minister of Egypt, to lead the whole nation of Egypt.
Perhaps you are also in a season of quiet preparation. Your talents are unknown to the world, but God is training you for the larger role He has prepared for you—your eventual destiny.
Many heroes in the Bible went through a quiet season like that: Moses tended sheep in the land of Midian before he was sent to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. David shepherded his father’s sheep and killed a lion and a bear before he had the opportunity to fight Goliath. Gideon was a coward before God called him and turned him into a valiant hero who routed the Midianites with just three hundred men. Jesus spent thirty years in obscurity, being in close communion with the Father until it was time to begin His public ministry.
If the chief butler had told Pharaoh about Joseph any earlier, Pharaoh would have just brushed it aside. The dreams had to come first.
While you are waiting, God has already prepared the equivalent of Pharaoh’s dream to take you to a higher level at the right time. Waiting time with God is not wasted time. He is training you every day, little by little—with each Scripture, each prayer, each interaction with others, and each challenge that you overcome through faith.
If you are feeling delayed, just like Joseph was for two years in the prison, remember that delay is not denial! God is still sculpting you, and when you are ready, He will display His masterpiece for all to see.
“God’s Appointed Time: How to Be Fruitful in Every Season of Life” is the revelation that every Christian needs. It will cause you to be full of peace and joy, even as you wait for the appointed time of your breakthrough. Put an end to every frustration and learn to flow with God’s system of times and seasons for restful increase by His grace: https://bit.ly/god-appointed-time
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