Things can get better, if you trust God's promises

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:19-21).

To call someone a daydreamer is no compliment. A daydreamer is regarded as someone who wastes time in flights of fancy, someone who cannot concentrate on getting important things done.

But Joseph, son of Jacob, was no ordinary dreamer. Joseph dreamed dreams that came from God. In his time, there was no written Bible through which God could speak to men. So instead God spoke through dreams, visions, and direct confrontations. The dreams sent by God were quite a different thing from the dreams that come to people who go to bed with confused minds or sour stomachs.

In his first dream, young Joseph saw twelve bundles of wheat. His bundle stood upright, while the bundles belonging to his eleven brothers bowed down to it. In his second dream, Joseph saw the sun and the moon and eleven stars; all of these bowed down to him as well. Joseph shared these dreams with his family, and everyone immediately knew what they meant—that some day Joseph’s eleven brothers would bow to him in respectful submission, and even his parents would do the same.

As you can imagine, these dreams did not sit well with Joseph’s brothers, ten of whom were older than him. Joseph was the second youngest—why should they treat him like the first-born? This, along with the fact that Joseph was his father’s obvious favorite, caused jealousy to grow in their hearts. When Jacob had a fancy coat made for his favorite son to parade around in, jealousy became outright hatred.

The family business was sheep herding, and as the boys grazed their flock, they would be away from home for weeks at a time. One day, father Jacob wondered how his sons were faring with the herd, so he sent Joseph to go find them and report back. Joseph, wearing his coat of many colors, went to the valley of Hebron to find them, but discovered that they had moved on. He continued to the valley of Shechem, but again he found that he had missed them. Several days and 75 miles later, Joseph finally caught up to his brothers near Dothan in the valley of Esdraelon.

The brothers could not fail to see Joseph coming, what with him dressed so colorfully. They muttered to each other, Here comes that dreamer! (Genesis 37:19) Filled with envy and hatred, they discussed how they could be rid of him. Most wanted to just kill him and be done with it. Imagine it—brothers plotting murder, brothers who had been raised together in a godly home by a man and woman who revered the Lord! Just goes to show what envy and hatred can do to anyone, even a Christian!

Joseph arrived at a scene of harsh betrayal. No words of welcome. No questions as to how their father was doing. Instead, they ripped the fancy coat from him and threw him into a dry well, where they left him while they decided how to kill him. But as they discussed the matter, they saw a caravan of traders journeying down to Egypt. Brother Judah said, What can we gain by killing our brother? That would just give us a guilty conscience. Let's sell Joseph to those…traders. Let's not be responsible for his death; after all, he is our brother! (Genesis 37:26-27) So they sold Joseph into slavery for 20 silver coins.

How Joseph’s heart must have ached as he walked off in chains, hearing his brothers sneer, "now let’s see what the future holds for this boy with big dreams!" How Joseph must have yearned for the freedom to run to his loving father as the miles took him further and further from home. But the Bible gives no indication that Joseph ever gave in to despair or lost his faith in God; he had received his dreams from God, and he believed that those dreams would come true.

You and I will likely never receive a prophetic dream from God like Joseph did; that is because the Holy Spirit has caused the Bible to be written for us. Peter tells us, Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). All of the promises of God—His willingness to forgive your sins because of Jesus, His offer of loving care and guidance, and His invitation to join Him in heaven—all of these promises are guaranteed, by God’s own dictated words, to be true. Jesus, the Word of God made man, offers us comfort and hope in these sacred Scriptures: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12)…I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11)…I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26)…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)…I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5). Unlike Joseph, you don’t need to dream dreams to hear the Lord’s promises. You have His word, printed in a book that you can pick up and read any time. God caused His Word to be published so that you can be assured that He has not forgotten what He has promised; like Joseph, you can depend on God to honor His commitments. And because of this, like Joseph, you can face the bad times with confidence, not despair.

In Joseph’s day, Egypt was a mighty country. It had fertile farmland, a thriving economy, advanced culture and military might. When the caravan arrived they had no problem selling their slaves, and Joseph ended up in the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard. A slave for life—this was probably worse than any unpleasant life you could imagine, whether it be living with an alcoholic, being stuck in a school or a job that you don’t like, being married to a person who repeatedly disappoints you, or serving in a military hot zone overseas. Slavery was hardly Joseph’s choice. Yet, being a child of God, instead of whining or sulking, he made up his mind to live his life for his Lord, and be an honest and faithful slave.

Joseph is a model for all of us. Whatever your situation, Joseph says by his example: quit feeling sorry for yourself! Does your life seem miserable? Change it, if you can. But if you cannot, make up your mind to live your life for God, just as it is—be the best student, housewife, or employee that you can. Remember that, as a Christian, our Lord has control of your situation, so use your life to honor Him.

Joseph served his master faithfully and cheerfully; soon he was rewarded with a promotion. Potiphar made Joseph manager of all his slaves as well as his possessions. To benefit Joseph, God blessed Potiphar and his household. Joseph was well liked by everyone in the house, and secretly desired by Potiphar’s wife. She propositioned Joseph—not just once, but day after day as he faithfully worked for her husband.

Like salesmen on the road, students at college, or servicemen overseas, Joseph was miles away from his home and his place of worship. It would be easy to give in to temptation and enjoy a night of raw lust. But he knew that God was there with him—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God held in such high esteem by his parents as the God who loved and cared. Armed with a family background of dedication to the Lord, Joseph had the determination to tell Potiphar’s wife, How…could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? (Genesis 39:9) Here, parents may see the value of religious training, of reading Bible stories to their children at bedtime, of insisting that they attend Sunday School, of worshipping the Lord together as a family in church every week. Here is the payoff of showing youth that time with God is more important than time playing ball or hunting or shopping. Joseph stayed true to God because his parents had equipped him with the shield of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

But it is said that "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." With her overtures of sinful love rejected, Potiphar’s wife became filled with rage, and she falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her. You can hardly blame Potiphar for reacting violently to such a charge—he promptly had Joseph thrown into prison. Yet there sat poor Joseph—an honorable young man who had obeyed God rather than men—and he was the one punished for doing right. How unfair! While sitting in the darkness of the dungeon, he must have wondered if it paid to be honest and upright. Where was his God? What of the promises of his dreams? Time in that dungeon must have been dark, but Joseph had at least a little light—the light of God’s approval for doing the right thing, regardless of the cost.

Even during his years in prison, Joseph did not give in to despair or bitterness. He continued to serve God as his situation permitted. And so the Lord saw that he received another promotion; Joseph was made chief among the prisoners. But while this was going on, the Lord set in motion events that would free Joseph from confinement. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was sent a dream. In the dream, Pharaoh saw seven fat cows and seven starved cows; amazingly, the starved cows overcame and ate the healthy cows. Next, the king saw seven ripened ears of corn and seven ears of sun-scorched corn; again, the dry and desiccated ears destroyed the healthy full ears. Pharaoh consulted every wise man in the country, but no one could interpret the dream. Then Pharaoh’s butler, who had for a time been in the prison with Joseph, suggested that the king consult this man who had successfully interpreted the butler’s dreams years earlier. Joseph was brought to the king, and by God’s power was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. They simply meant that Egypt would have seven years of bountiful harvests, which would be followed by seven years of terrible famine. Joseph followed this interpretation with some advice; he recommended that Pharaoh appoint a wise man to set aside 20% of each years’ harvest, so that when famine came the people would not starve.

Pharaoh was so impressed by everything Joseph said that he immediately appointed Joseph as the man in charge of this project. The king dressed Joseph in finery, and made him second in command of Egypt, answering only to Pharaoh himself. He gave orders that whenever anyone came before Joseph, they were to bow in respect and submission. Joseph had gone from being a shepherd boy to a slave, from being a slave to a convict, and now from being a convict to a prince!

The famine came as predicted, and it spread even to Joseph’s homeland. From all over, people traveled to Egypt for food as their own crops withered and died. Joseph’s family came as well. You can imagine the horrible shock his brothers felt when they realized that their lives, and the lives of their parents, lay in the hands of the brother they had treated so poorly! They bowed before him, out of abject terror, just as Joseph’s dreams had foretold.

But if Joseph showed great character in adversity, he showed even greater character in prosperity. With all his power, it would have been easy to get even with those who had hurt him. But Joseph’s God was the God of love and forgiveness, the God who would one day send His holy Son to die on our behalf so that our sins could be forgiven. Joseph knew what he must do. He forgave his brothers out of the same merciful love that God shows to all who bow before Him. And that love moved Joseph to do even more. He gave his brothers and their families all the food they needed, and, with Pharaoh’s permission, granted them land to live on in Egypt—some of the richest land in the country!

Joseph summed up his evaluation of his life in these words which he spoke to his brothers: Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. Joseph realized that God had the power and the wisdom to take any circumstance in life and bring something good out of it. This is a thought that Paul reiterates in Romans 8:28--we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. This is the same promise that Jesus made to us when He told us that if we first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness, everything else that we need will be given to us as well (Matthew 6:33).

The question, then, is this: do you trust God to make good on His promise to take care of you, as Joseph did? Do you love God enough to put Him first in your life, as Joseph did? Joseph held on to the promise that God had given him, and God brought him through adversity to the fulfillment of that promise. If you make commitment to God the most important thing in your life, He will give you everything that you need and cause things to work out in your best interests. Riches and poverty, health and sickness, even mistreatment from others can be turned by God to benefit you. That is God’s eternal promise.