Good morning. Happy Monday and Happy September. It’s great to see September roll around. Cooler weather, the State Fair of Texas, our anniversary and the first signs of Fall. After living in Maui for a few years, it made me realize what a joy the changing of the seasons brings. The change of the weather and the change of the foliage usher in a much deeper change, an emotional shift. To do without this shift in Maui was odd indeed. I’m looking forward to fires, family, Christmas and the coolness that Fall brings.
Well, I had quite the adventurous, fun filled weekend as I flew out to Santa Barbara for the first time and ran a one day retreat at Montana de Oro State Beach park. Me, a fellow speaker and 25 university students from China, most being new to the US. What a joy-filled, enriching experience to be able to connect with these students while deeply discussing how to deal with adversity in life, understand the complexities of our personalities and to study the rewards of effective team building. I found myself having rousing discussions with the students as we sat on rough-hewn benches in a mountainside amphitheater. The hawks, lizards, bluebirds and cottontails enjoyed their normal routine all around us as we enjoyed their home. The clouds meandered above as the sun would peak through occasionally to warm the face. More than once I looked around, took it all in, and wondered how I had gotten here. If you surrender to God, offer Him your availability and then follow Him in obedience, He will indeed take you to some amazing places. I have found in my experience that serving God can be many things, but boring is never one of them.
This morning I jumped into Genesis 41 and in it, Joseph’s life jumps ahead light years in mere minutes. It makes me think of one time when I heard a movie star being spoken to about his becoming an “overnight success.” He jokingly responded, “ha, that’s funny, I’ve been working over 15 years to have this overnight success.” You see, unknown time, practice, sacrifice and preparation had gone into that career and when it finally broke for that star, the world didn’t see all of that. They only knew that his name was not on their TV yesterday, but it was today. A true overnight success, right?
Well, our story starts out today in chapter 41 with Joseph still sitting in prison. Chapter 40 ended with this verse, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” (Gen 40:23) Recall that Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream and all Joseph had asked for in return was that he put in a good word for him with the Pharaoh, which never happened.
We’re told in the first verse of chapter 41 that after "two whole years", Pharaoh had a dream. We’re not told how long Joseph had already been in prison, but we know here that it was “2 whole years” more on top of whatever it was. Now think about this. Make it personal. I’ve never been to prison, but I would have to think that an Egyptian prison in 1700 BC would not be a very comfortable existence. Remember that before this, Joseph had spent about 10 years living in Potiphar’s palace as he operated his household and enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle. But because of Potiphar’s wife, he went from a hero to a zero quickly. But today we will see just the opposite and that’s our lesson. When you walk closely with God, things can change quickly. Very quickly.
In fact, that’s the very verbiage we see in verse 41:14. Because no one can interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, the cupbearer finally remembers Joseph and so Pharaoh, being out of options, calls for him.
“Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.” Gen 41:14
Notice that word, quickly. Fast. Rapid. Swift. Without delay. Joseph had spent years in that pit. Dark, damp, lonely. Foul with the stench of humans. The days must have been brutal as you had your hope constantly squeezed by the circumstances that tightened upon you over time. The heat, the filth, the bondage. The lack of pure sunlight. The absence of a breeze upon your face. The lack of a barefoot walk in the grass. As Red speaks of Andy Dufrene’s escape in The Shawshank Redemption, he says “Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes really, pressure, and time.” I cannot begin to imagine the mental, emotional and physical pressure that Joseph endured in this harsh environment, year after year. But in a moment, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, his life changed. And notice what a change it was.
He was quickly, plucked out of that dark pit, shaved, showered, cleaned and adorned with the most beautiful clothes available. He went from a dirty, unkempt prisoner to a clean, well-groomed, well clothed, free man. Why? Folks, he was going to see the king. He interprets the king’s dreams and as a result is placed at the right hand of the king, 2nd in command. What a transformation. And it all happens quickly. To so many bystanders that observed this transformation, Joseph had become an overnight success. An overnight success after only a few hard years in prison.
Have you spent some time in prison? Are you still in prison? I don’t mean a real prison. Maybe you’re in a deep, dark pit of despair. Or maybe you’re in a cold, prison cell of depression. Maybe you’ve spent years in a 6x6 cell that is filled with hopelessness. Or maybe you’re living in the bondage of addiction, the shackles around your ankles rubbing the skin raw. Folks, it can all change today…quickly. You see the saving grace of Jesus Christ can pluck you out of whatever prison you are in today. Jesus has the power to change your life in the blink of an eye. Simply call upon His name. He came to this planet, the Son of God, to die for you. To die to pay the high price of your sins. The sins that keep you in bondage in your own personal prison today. The blood He shed for you on the Cross holds the true power of freedom. Call upon His name to save you from your sins. To save you from the hopelessness of your prison cell. He is faithful to hear you and He is faithful to reach down and lift you up out of the pit. Not only to offer you the precious gift of eternal life with Him in Heaven, but He’ll bring you up out of the pit, clean you as white as snow and dress you in clothes of righteousness as you meet the King. And as result, you will be able to enjoy life to the fullest, a truly abundant life, right here on this planet.
Praise God for His truth, His goodness and His amazing saving grace that is available to us all through Jesus Christ. We don’t deserve it and we can’t earn it, it’s a gift from God.
Accept the gift today and say goodbye to the prison life.
Blessings to you all.
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