GODLY INTERPRETATIONS

Joseph stopped in his tracks as he walked through the jail. Ahmed and Rashad were sitting in their cell.

Joseph backed up. “Shouldn’t you two be in the kitchen fixing breakfast?”

Then he saw them both staring at the floor. “What happened to you guys? You both look like you just lost your best friend.”

Rashad kept staring at the floor. “We each had a dream last night.”

Ahmed glanced at Joseph. “They were so real, but we don’t know what they mean.”

Joseph came in the cell and sat on the edge of Ahmed’s bed. “My God can speak to people through dreams. He gave me some dreams in my youth I’m still scratching my head over. Tell me your dreams. Perhaps He’ll tell me their interpretations.”

Ahmed sat up. “In my dream I stood in a vineyard. And in front of me I saw three distinct branches on one vine. Then, as I watched, flowers appeared, then grapes took their place and grew into fine clusters. I saw Pharaoh standing to my left handing me a cup. I took the cup and squeezed juice into it. I handed it back to my lord. He drank it and smiled at me.”

Joseph nodded. “The three branches in your dream are three days. In three days you’ll be restored to your former position as Pharaoh’s cup-bearer.”

Then Joseph grabbed Ahmed’s arm and looked in his eyes. “Remember me when you stand before Pharaoh. My brothers had no right to sell me as a slave. I did nothing to deserve being sent here. Plead my case or allow me to plead it to him. Please, help get me out of here.”

Rashad came over and sat next to Joseph. “In my dream I had three white baskets on my head. The top basket had all sorts of breads in it. The birds came and ate the bread out of it. I could do nothing to stop them.”

Joseph placed a hand on Rashad’s knee. “The baskets in your dream are three days, too. In three days you will be removed from the jail, but you will be hanged so the birds will eat your flesh.”

Rashad’s face turned white.

****

Three days later Joseph led two finely-dressed men to the cell and unlocked the door. “The two of you are being summoned to appear at Pharaoh’s birthday party.”

Ahmed and Rashad looked at each other, then at Joseph.

One of Pharaoh’s men stood in the doorway. “Somebody designed a new game for today. One of you will get your job back. The other one will wish you had stayed here. Come now, we must not keep Pharaoh waiting.” He clapped his hands twice.

Joseph placed a hand on Ahmed’s shoulder as he passed. “Remember me.”

********

God gave Joseph his dreams at 17. He was now twenty eight.

God would have caused Joseph to recall his dreams by having him interpret these men’s dreams. The flickering light of hope would be re-ignited if it had gone out.

Three days isn’t long to wait to see if God is truly working. The next two years would have crawled by for the forgotten Joseph. Or, should I say, the seemingly forgotten Joseph?

You see, the cup-bearer did remember Joseph. He just didn’t do it as quickly as Joseph thought it would happen. We’ll look at that next time.

The God of dreams was still near to His son. Joseph must have thought about his own dreams in his solitude after interpreting these dreams.

Did he recall the details of his dreams to see if there were any time stamps? It had been eleven years since his night-time visions. Why would those brothers who hated him ever bow to a guy running inmates’ lives? These must have been a sampling of questions that swirled in Joseph’s mind in days to come.

[Tweet “Whatever God has called you to do you won’t be able to put it away.”]

Has God given you glimmers of hope to propel you onward to your aspirations for Him?

Did someone take the time to comment on a blog post how your writing inspired them and/or gave them hope?

Have you made the revisions an editor or agent suggested you make to improve the chances of your manuscript being picked up?

Did you follow up on that offer to guess post on that other blog?

You see, God won’t leave you hanging if He’s still planning on using you for His purpose. That doesn’t mean He won’t make you wait for a time to test your determination to be used by Him.

Keep posting those blogs, even when nobody comments or subscribes. You never know who is reading it in silence and growing.

Keep revising that manuscript to make it more appealing to read. These are lessons that will make the next story come together quicker.

Stretch yourself to write something different, or to a different audience. That exposure will build you into a more interesting writer.

Whatever God has called you to do you won’t be able to put it away. You can try, but He’ll give you glimpses of hope and insight.

Joseph had no clue what God had in store for him at his point in the narrative. He only had his cockamamie dreams to guide him, and an invisible God working behind the scenes. He kept giving his best, so should you.

A true test of a great leader is someone who relies on God to lead his life and his decisions. Joseph was learning that lesson big time here.

Trust God to work things out in His time. You can’t see the whole plan He has devised.

Do what He has called you to do now. Trust Him to use you as He wills.

He gave you the personality and desire to please Him.

Take your life one day at a time like Joseph had to do.

I’ll see you later.   Wade

By wadewebster

I'm a truck driver turned writer. My writing drives people to Jesus. I love sunsets/sunrises, dark chocolate, coffee, cats and dogs (as long as their owners pick up after them) and solitude. My relationship with God through Jesus Christ is most important to me, not a religion. This writing gig is all God's idea. I only wish to bring more attention to Jesus with it.

2 comments

  1. Wonderful counsel, Wade. I had been writing without success for many years. In August of this year, I’d come to the end of my patience, threw my arms up and gave it all to God…success or not, I said, “God just please let me know if I’m supposed to keep writing.” That was on a Wednesday night, Sunday night God opened an unexpected door and within three weeks I had my first book contract. Keeping on keeping on is the plan, the key is surrendering your will to God’s will.

    DiAne

    1. Congratulations on the book contract, DiAne.
      I’ve heard it said many people give up on writing just before their break comes. I’m glad you stuck it out. Now, hunker down and make it the best book you can in the editing process.
      To God be the glory! Wade

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.