“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25,26
When Joseph, as young man of seventeen years of age, was sold by his brothers as a slave to merchantmen travelling to Egypt, he had no idea what God would use in his circumstances to prepare him to be the instrument of saving thousands of lives from famine. There was one particular lesson that was essential for Joseph, not only to grasp, but to become a part of him, regardless of circumstances, whether in a prison or before the throne of Egypt. It was the lesson of waiting wholly, and only upon God.
The circumstances into which God would interject Joseph would begin with the humiliation of being sold by his brothers as a slave, and thus, being separated from his family, especially his father and younger brother. Immediately Joseph was put in a position of solitude, a solitude which would grow and deepen, unless he finds God to be his consolation, and constant presence. Then, the circumstances would seemingly change for the better, as Joseph served an Egyptian who was an officer of Pharaoh. And yet, in those circumstances, where Joseph was blessed by God, being very successful, and trustworthy, in the job which Potiphar gave him, he would be tempted by Potiphar’s wife, to sin against God. In this crucial moment when he rejected Potiphar’s wife’s advances, after having done all to avoid her, he chose to flee, thus incurring prison because of the lies of the woman. He was put into a position where he could not defend himself. Again, in that place of solitude, he would learn in an ever- deepening way, to wait upon his God, to faithfully serve Him in prison as he had Potiphar. However, in that prison, without any hope from anyone or anything to deliver him, he would be cast increasingly upon the God of his father, Jacob. He would certainly remember all that his father had taught him, for years later, when by another set of God-created circumstances he would declare to his brothers that God had placed him as a ruler over Egypt for that particular time, in that particular manner, for the purpose of saving his people, and family, and also the Egyptians. The great lesson of Joseph’s endurance had its foundation in God, and learning the principle and practice of waiting daily upon Him, and Him alone. The grace of God was given to Joseph to do this, not only as a slave, while living and working in a prison, but afterwards, as a man of great authority in Egypt. The simple lesson learned in the difficult place would continue to deepen, proving to be not only valid and a true means of honoring God, but also one by which God would save and deliver, showing forth His glory. Indeed, Joseph learned that “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
But what of depth, that ever-deepening of one’s dependence upon the sufficient God? It comes with quietness of heart and spirit. Why and how? It is a Scriptural principle that waiting on God is not only an individual matter, but one of aloneness, quietness, undistracted attention given to God. The man David, great shepherd and leader that he was, learned the essential of aloneness with God to worship. This became the priority of his life, there to “behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple.” The Lord Jesus would instruct His disciples to come aside to aloneness with the Father. Why? That they might be undistracted, individually so, with worshipping the God who desired to reveal Himself to the heart. Most certainly, Joseph learned to worship God in very different circumstances, remembering and receiving the revelation of God to his heart. It was in the remembrance of God, the knowledge of Him, that faith and hope were strengthened, overcoming fear and doubt.
Dear Father, Quieten us to hope. In Jesus’ name, Amen.