God Worked For Joseph's Good (MP 31)

Joseph’s whole life might have wasted away,
Forgotten and hopeless in Pharaoh’s jail,
If God’s Plan had no role for him to play—
Some task in which he alone could prevail!
His detour to prison brought Joseph near
To the palace where his future task lay;
Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer were here,
And one of them helped Joseph on his way!
The cupbearer’s dream Joseph did explain;
God showed it to him, and he passed it on:
The cupbearer was to bear cups again,
At Pharaoh’s table where he was well known!
He agreed to remember Joseph’s plight,
As he tasted the king’s cup day and night!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Romans 8:28—“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”

Genesis 40:12-14—“ ‘This is what it [the cupbearer’s dream] means,’ Joseph said to him. ‘The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.’ “

Commentary on: Romans 8:28 and Genesis 40 (NIV)
In the New Testament of the Bible, the apostle Paul gives the reason why all Joseph’s seemingly rotten circumstances turn out to be the very steps that lead him to higher and higher positions. According to Romans 8:28, God is at work controlling the things that happen to Joseph to make them work for good in his life. Notice that His help in this way is given freely to everyone, then and now, that meet two conditions: (1) the human man or woman loves God; and (2) he or she is called for a special purpose that God needs the person to do. Joseph met both requirements; he loved God, as shown by his adamant rejection of the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife—it would have been a wicked thing to do in the sight of God; and God was using Joseph for His own important purpose—to bring the Israelites to Egypt for them to have a growing period of 430 years. God doesn’t work for good in the life of every person; He only does this for those who love Him, which today means they have accepted Jesus Christ, His Son, as Lord and Savior. All believers are given a purpose of God, but non-believers are aimless in God’s sight, and He lets them fend for themselves (In cases where God is working for long-range good according to His Master Plan, He uses non-believers frequently as instruments to bring His purpose to fruition.).

In Genesis Chapter 40, Joseph is sent to prison by the lies of Potiphar’s wife, and it looks as if nothing can be done to get him out, but because of God’s working for Joseph’s good, he has a chance to interpret a dream---correctly, the interpretation coming from God---for a person who works personally with Pharaoh, his cupbearer. His job was to taste every beverage meant for the king first; if he didn’t die of poison, he handed it to Pharaoh for him to drink. Being so close to the king so much of the time, he would have a chance to put in a good word for Joseph. I’m sure that God arranged for Joseph to be in jail; for the cupbearer to be there, too; for him to have the dream; for Pharaoh to reverse his cupbearer’s conviction; and all the rest of it. I want God to work for me for good, and I’m sure you do, too. Here’s how you can get Him working for you!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him sill not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)