Waiting on the Lord
God’s timing usually doesn’t match up with what you would choose, but His timing is perfect.
One recurring theme in the Bible is the need for believers to wait upon the Lord and his timing as he works in our lives to bring about his purposes. Sometimes we have big plans and we get discouraged when those plans fall apart. We can even think that God has forgotten about us. God’s Word encourages us to keep on trusting in God even when things seem to be going against us. We should wait on the Lord and when the timing is right, he will work in our lives for our good.
Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter. Proverbs 20:22 (NLT)
So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. Isaiah 30:18 (NLT)
God’s timing in Joseph’s life
Joseph is a very important person in the history of God’s people. Thirteen chapters of Genesis (chapters 37-50) are devoted to Joseph’s story - that’s over one quarter of the book of Genesis.
Joseph started out with a bright future. The favorite son of Isaac, also know as Israel, the patriarch of God’s people, Joseph had big dreams as a young man. You should read the story in Genesis 37 through 50.
But Joseph’s dreams of being something special were shattered one day. His 10 older brothers hated him because he was their father’s favorite, and Joseph kinda flaunted his favored status. His dad had given him a fancy coat to wear as a sign that he was loved more than his brothers, and it infuriated them every time they saw him wearing it. One day they saw him out in the fields and they plotted to kill him. Fortunately for Joseph, his brothers spotted a caravan heading to Egypt and they decided to sell him into slavery rather than kill him. That way they could be rid of him forever and have some pocket money too!
They took Joseph’s fancy coat and put animal’s blood on it and told their dad that a wild animal had attacked and killed Joseph.
Joseph as a slave
We can only imagine Joseph’s thoughts as he was carried to Egypt to be sold into slavery. I’m sure he was full of despair as we all would be under those circumstances. It is very interesting, however, how the Bible says that even though Joseph probably thought his life was ruined, God was with him:
When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. Genesis 39:1–4 (NLT)
Even though he was a slave, Joseph ended up in a pretty decent position for a slave to be in - as the personal assistant of an important Egyptian official! Well, that was good until Potiphar’s wife decided she wanted to seduce Joseph:
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. Genesis 39:6–7 (NLT)
As you can imagine this put Joseph in a very difficult position. He refused her demands and just tried to avoid her, but one day when no one was around she grabbed his outer garment and demand he sleep with her. Joseph tore himself away leaving his outer garment in her hands and ran away as fast as he could. She started hollering and when she got everyone’s attention she told them that Joseph tried to rape her. Of course, Potiphar was very angry and had Joseph thrown into prison.
Joseph in prison
“Great! Not only sold into slave by my own family, but now framed and punish for a crime I didn’t commit!” Must have been the thoughts running through Joseph’s mind.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. Genesis 39:21–23 (NLT)
To make a long story short, the Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker were both put into the prison with Joseph. One day both of them woke up puzzled by dreams they had during the night. God gave Joseph the ability to interpret their dreams, and for the chief cup-bearer it was very good news: in three days he was going to be restored to his duties serving Pharaoh! Joseph asked the cup-bearer to remember to talk to Pharaoh about him and the injustice that was done to put him in that prison. But the cup-bearer forgot all about Joseph.
Joseph forgotten in prison
I assume Joseph waited and waited for word to come from Pharaoh that Joseph should be released, but it never came. Weeks turned into months and Joseph finally realized that he had been totally forgotten!
Two years past. One day Pharaoh had a dream that none of his advisors or wise men could interpret and the Pharaoh was very upset. The cup-bearer remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about his gift of interpreting dreams, so the Pharaoh sent for him to be brought from prison. Not only did Joseph interpret Pharaoh’s dreams about a great famine coming in 7 years, but Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of preparing the nation so they would have enough food when the drought began! Later in the story Joseph’s own father and brothers survive the drought because of the preparations Joseph made!
God’s perfect timing
If Joseph had been in charge of circumstances he would have had the cup-bearer tell Pharaoh about his plight in the first week of his reinstatement. If that had happened, even if Pharaoh had cared enough to release Joseph, chances are when Pharaoh had the dream about the seven years of plenty and the seven years of drought, Joseph would have been long gone and no one would have been able to interpret the dream! Many would have died in the drought because there wouldn’t have been a stockpile of food. Even Joseph’s family wouldn’t have had anywhere to go to get food.
Wow. During those two years after the cup-bearer forgot him, I bet Joseph thought God had forgotten about him, too. But God had not forgotten him. God was waiting for the perfect time for the cup-bearer to remember. Impeccable timing. God’s timing is always perfect.
Joseph looking back on his troubles
Years later Joseph was reunited with his brothers who had treated him so hatefully. When they found out that Joseph was now a powerful official who could pay them back for the evil they did to him they were very afraid. After their father died the brothers figured Joseph would take revenge on them, but Joseph had gained some perspective:
But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them. Genesis 50:19–21 (NLT)
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.
When Joseph looked at his circumstances, there were probably many times when he gave up hope. But God was working all the time bringing about good.
God’s timing:
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Galatians 4:4–5 (NLT)
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:6–8 (NLT)
Overwhelmed this morning during worship service with sadness and yearning for a grandson experiencing effects of ADHD. And of course it’s effects my daughter’s entire family. We hate to see such struggles for those we love. But God, in His good time … will bring them all to know their need for the cross, to Jesus Christ, who alone understands their depths of sorrow … and the joy that can be theirs in Him. And perhaps He will bring healing and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)