Genesis 40:5-8 – Discovering God’s dream for us

Whatever happened in the prison where Joseph was thrown in was more than co-incidence. God was shaping him for the moment to bring about the fulfilment of his dream of greatness. Everything that Joseph experienced bore the mark of God’s hand. Interesting dreams are more than just a function of the mind. We need to know that God does use dreams to communicate with people. So both the royal baker and cupbearer each had a dream on the same night. It’s also interesting to note that Egyptians at that time put great value to dreams. They believed that when one is asleep he or she would be in touch with the unseen world. To them when dreams that occurred in pair suggest the certainty of their fulfilment. Besides, in their world there were people uniquely gifted with the capacity to interpret dreams. They were believed to have the ability to unlock the meaning of dreams. But now in prison, such gifted dream interpreters were not readily available to the two royal prisoners. So they were greatly stressed and troubled the next day. It was written all over their faces.

Joseph noticed that both the king’s cupbearer and baker were downcast. So he enquired of them to find out the reason. He was told that they each had a dream and there was no one available to interpret their dreams to them. The way Joseph responded to them show how matured he had become. The once insensitive, self- absorbed Joseph had become considerate and compassionate. Though he had every reason to ignore the two royal prisoners, but he instead showed great tenderness and care. It is clear that through what he had gone through, God had so obviously developed his heart, preparing him for greater moments to come. What Joseph went through had made him sensitive to the presence of God in every circumstance. Seeing God in every situation had become his spontaneous reflex. Hence his response to them was, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”

Joseph had indeed grown. He had become a person who would trust God explicitly. He had developed a profound and intimate dependence in God. His mind would naturally gravitate toward God. This is so needful in every godly leadership. The way he responded, asking them to tell him their dreams, was an indication that he had not forgotten his own dream. It’s an indication that though 12 years had lapsed he was still trusting and holding on to the dreams God gave him in his youth. He believed that they would come true. It is obvious that God had effectively prepared Joseph for greatness. The young insensitive, self-centered youth, had become a compassionate, considerate and caring godly leader. He was sensitive to the plight of others, and his first response to the needs of others was to turn to God for wisdom and direction. These are clearly essential to godly living and godly leadership.

What is God saying to us through all these events of Joseph life? Our future is in God’s hand. Like Joseph, not a single experience, negative or otherwise, need to be wasted. Like him we must learn to see God in those circumstances of life. The sooner we identify the handprint of God, the sooner will we be able to realize His dream for our life. God still has something great installed for us. Let’s identify and discover them!