From prison to greatness in one day

Genesis 41:37-40

From prison to greatness in one day; how does a young man of thirty handle this kind of acclaim?  This is what happened to Joseph; they removed his prison clothes, they gave him a bath and a shave, and he finds himself in from of the most powerful man in his world.  This Pharaoh has the power to put you back in prison, take your life, or put you over all that he controls, and the only thing he is keeping from you is the throne.  This is what Pharaoh told him; “Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 

It is a good day in Egypt because the king has an understanding of this truth, “And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God.” (Genesis 41:38)  It is clear to Pharaoh that Joseph has the Spirit of God all over him, by his speech and his actions. Joseph did not have weeks to put together his résumé, his only hope was to trust God to show up and dazzle the king, and folks you and I should learn this important lesson from Joseph.

I ask, how can a young man handle this kind of acclaim, you know his hands were sweating as he came out of the darkness of that hole they called a prison, and entered into the greatness of the Pharaoh.  It seems only natural that he is more than a little blown away by how the Pharaoh believes the interpretation; he did not have time to get on his Mac and do graphs or charts, his only resource was God.

And now he has been placed over the whole works, he is the most important person in Egypt he is Time magazines, Man of the Year.   He wins the Noble Peace Prize and everyone who is anyone wants to know this young man.  How can anyone handle this success?  Joseph never believes the press; he knew who he was and he knew whom his God was, and he put his trust in his God and not in his ability.  Major Thomas may have learned this from observing Joseph’s life; “I can’t, you never said I could, You can and You promised You would.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice