January 21st, 2010
“Can we find anyone else like this man, so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” Genesis 41:38b
These words were spoken by the Egyptian Pharaoh about Joseph, after God used him to interpret the king’s troubling dreams. Pharaoh was not a believer in the one, true God. Yet He recognized God’s Spirit at work in the man who stood before him. As a result, this powerful ruler immediately gave Joseph control over all the affairs of his kingdom.
What had prepared Joseph for this moment? He’d kept his heart centered on God and refused to succumb to bitterness. Though sold as a slave by jealous brothers, lied about by Potiphar’s devious wife, imprisoned for years, and forgotten by one who’d promised a good word on his behalf, Joseph had honored God, worked hard to serve others, and trusted his Lord, even when everything looked and felt hopeless.
His heart was tuned to God, so when the moment came for God to move on his behalf, Joseph knew what to do. This godless ruler recognized the hand of Almighty God and gave unprecedented authority to this unknown foreigner who, just a short time earlier, had been rotting in the palace prison.
PONDER: Is my heart centered on God, tuned-in and trusting, like Joseph’s, even in the midst of circumstances I don’t like or understand? Or has bitterness, resentment, and mistrust consumed my energies and dulled my senses to God’s voice and His movements?
PRAYER: Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me!