changed

One of the things that always impressed me about Daniel was his fearlessness in doing what was right no matter what the threat. This morning I was impressed in the same way with Joseph. I was reading a story I’ve read many times before, about Pharaoh having bad dreams and Joseph’s former jail-mates finally remembering him.

Genesis 41:14-16 “So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’

‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.’

I wonder if Joseph was tempted, even for a second, to say, “Sure, tell me about your dream.” After all, the only reason he got out of that hole and got a bath and some clean clothes was because Pharaoh thought Joseph could do something for him. It doesn’t seem prudent at that point to say, in essence, “Well, no, I can’t. You don’t need me, you need God.”

Joseph gave the glory to God for what he’d already done (interpret the dreams of the two servants) and expressed confidence in what what God would continue to do. It seems to me an amazing expression of faith for a man who had spent a long time in jail. Prison obviously didn’t make Joseph bitter. And, of course, his faith turned out to be well-placed.

I would love to have so much confidence in the Lord, and so little need for a reputation of my own, that I could think more often like Joseph. I struggle with both those things. I want people to give me credit for my work; I want the accolades that I feel I earn. And I often wonder if God will come through on something that’s important to me. What if this is one of those times I’ll be called to suffer?

To be able to say, “I’m not that good, but God is. All I can do is pray. But I’ll do that!” To be able to say, “Without Jesus I’m no different than you are, but let me tell you about him!” I wish I was there. Joseph seems to me to have gone way past just putting himself aside; it seems that he never even thinks about himself at all. 

That’s different than the boy Joseph who boasted about his dreams. God used slavery and prison to change that boy into the man Joseph who gives God all the glory. I trust that God isn’t finished changing me.