Where He Lead, I Will Follow: Genesis 41:9-13

I may not know where God is leading me, but I can still be confident He is leading me somewhere.  I don’t have the mind of God.  I cannot possibly know about things with which I don’t interact.  I cannot see into the hearts of people and know what they are planning.  I cannot possibly know everything.  Yet, just because I do not know God’s plan does not mean He doesn’t have one.

When the court magicians fail to give Pharoah the interpretation he desires, the cupbearer steps forward.  The cupbearer is in a much safer place.  He’s not a wise man.  He’s not a court magician.  He’s not expected to know what he’s doing with regards to the interpretation of dreams.  The cupbearer steps forward and tells Pharoah about Joseph.  Why does he remember now?

It could be the situation reminded the cupbearer about Joseph’s ability.  It could be the cupbearer had been so focused on not getting thrown into prison again he never gave Joseph another thought.  It could be the cupbearer didn’t want to risk tying his fate to someone else, so he didn’t bring Joseph up.

It could also be that God was now ready to move forward with his plan.  The cupbearer may have remembered Joseph in prison because the time was right.  God sent dreams to Pharoah to set up the meeting between Joseph and Pharoah.  God’s timing occurs, and events start to click into place.  Joseph had remained in prison because it was a safe place to keep Joseph while the rest of the world caught up to what God was doing.

I love stories like these in God’s Word.  Joseph no doubt felt forgotten in prison.  The cupbearer absolutely gets what he wants and moves past Joseph.  Pharoah has a set of strange dreams.  The wise men Pharoah typically leans on for understanding find themselves unable to accomplish the task.  All these seemingly unrelated events are brought together by God to demonstrate His will and His timing.

For me – completely acknowledging my bias – this demonstrates the power and the omniscience of God.  God keeps Joseph in prison and allows him to prosper there.  God sends the cupbearer to prison to meet Joseph.  God causes the cupbearer to forget about Joseph until the time is right for Pharoah to need Joseph.  God causes the court magicians and the wise men to be unable to understand the dream.  All these events demonstrate God’s wisdom and God’s planning.  They demonstrate God’s provision in our life.  This story is evidence about how God can take us, use us, and tie various threads running through a community to do something great.

He is a great God and He is worthy to be praised.  We may not always understand His plan, but we can still acknowledge He has a plan.  I may not know where God is leading me, but I can still be confident that He is leading me somewhere.