Genesis 39:21 – 40:8

²¹ But the LORD was with Joseph and stretched out his faithful love to him and gave him favor in the eyes of the keeper of the round house.

²² And the keeper of the round house put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the round house. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.

²³ The keeper of the round house paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

^40:1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their master the king of Egypt.

² And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers,

³ and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the butchers, in the round house where Joseph was confined.

⁴ The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he took care of them. They continued for some time in custody.

⁵ And one night they both dreamed- the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the round house – each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.

⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw them, and see, they were troubled.

⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”

⁸ They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to explain them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not explanations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

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one step closer to the reason

From the pit in the desert to the round house in Egypt – Joseph had no idea what was happening to him. He had dreams that he would be served, but now he is serving prisoners – as a prisoner himself. What he did not know was that this change brought him one step closer to fulfilling his own dreams. It took faith for him to offer to explain the dreams of the two imprisoned chiefs. He had to trust that God was still at work in his life, when all of his experiences seem to be saying that he had been abandoned. That is the kind of faith that people need to see in us.

LORD, give us the faith to believe that you are at work in us. Help us to trust – not ourselves – but your Holy Spirit.