From the Dungeon (pit) to the Throne Room
“Now a Hebrew youth was with us there,
(Genesis 41: 12-16 NASB)
[a Hebrew named Joseph]
a servant of the captain of the bodyguard,
and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us.
To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.
And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened;
he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.
[a magician of Egypt]
Then Pharoah sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon;
and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes,
he came to Pharoah.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it;
and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.
Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying,
“It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
- God is always at work; He never sleeps, never tires.
- God’s moving is instantaneous; He moves in His perfect timing.
We tend to try to “fix” our troubles all on our own. One example I notice in my own life occurs when my health begins to fail, for it is in that time, I walk up and down the pharmacy aisles, searching for the “perfect” drug that will “fix” what ails my body. Dr. Nancy swoops in and “fixes” the problem.
Rarely, does my health concern dissipate, but instead, only worsens. You see, I am normally a healthy person, one who rarely takes medication and one who rarely visits the doctor’s office.
God has an amazing tendency to reveal to us His power!
- Within our messy lives—
- Within our vivid dreams—
- Within our ups & downs—
We experience times when we just cannot find the correct solution to “fix” our problem.
To better illustrate this, allow me to share a small story from my silly antics—
One day, four years ago (yes, during COVID), my family was gathered at mom’s, sharing time with her as she recovered from back surgery. Now, allow me to pause and say: “My mom keeps an impeccably clean home, one with perfectly dusted and shiny floors.”
We were gathered in her front living room, doing what we normally do—Laughing together.
My mom was given this “contraption” from the surgeon, a device that would help her manipulate her left leg. This blue tool would help mom move her leg from here to there, and this tool was not a toy, or at least that’s what most adults in the room knew.
In my parents’ home, we were raised to discard our shoes when we entered, so see the group of us sitting there beside mom, shoeless with only socks covering our feet.
I am the most-silly adult at times, and on this particular day, as the contagious laughter continued, we began to make light of mom’s device, calling it a ‘dog-walker.’
Allow me to pause and say that my dear husband has a video stored on his phone of what occurred next, which should shout volumes, revealing how ‘he just knew that what was about to happen when I jumped from my chair and latched onto mom’s ‘dog-walker.’
He knew this video would be funny for years to come, and since that day, he has often shared it with others, laughing over the silliness of his wife’s actions.
Now, my daughter has a dog, and the dog Maple enjoys (as most dogs do) ‘dog-walking.’
Go ahead, yes, go there in your mind.
That particular day, I jumped from my chair in my mom’s living room, grabbing onto her ‘dog-walker’ & forgetting about my mom’s clean and slippery-shiny floors. As you might imagine, the laughter from my siblings began, and of course, what occurred next was video-worthy because a fifty-something adult should not become suspended, prone-like, back facing down above the floor, but that describes what my husband’s video reveals.
The THUD came next as my feet left the floor, as make-believe Maple tugged on my ‘dog-walker’ (or as she did in my silly playacting).
The surgeon asked me: “What caused your back pain?”
I like to reply that it was my wreck when I was in college, or it was my hard-working farm-life, or that it was all the sports I played until I was in my thirties, but truth be told—I KNOW WHAT HAS CAUSED MY BACK PAIN!
During the past four years, I have attempted to ‘fix’ my back pain, attending all the possible ‘fixes’ to my back problem, but thank goodness, even though I am a slow learner, God is the Great Physician.
When the Pharoah of Egypt experienced his dreams, he realized a need for an interpreter.
When Pharoah called upon the quick ‘fixers—his magicians. They could not ‘fix’ his problem by providing the interpretation.
However, when Pharoah called for the Hebrew youth to be brought from the dungeon,
- GOD WAS AT WORK, THERE THAT DAY!
- GOD HAD NOT FORGOTTEN JOSEPH!
- THE GREAT PHYSICIAN WOULD CURE PHARAOH—‘FIXING’ THE PROBLEM!
- GOD WOULD PROVIDE THE SOLUTION JOSEPH DESPERATELY NEEDED!
- GOD’S PLAN WAS NOT TO BE THWARTED!
Joseph was immediately brought—From the Dungeon (pit) to the Throne Room.
God has an amazing tendency to reveal to us His power!
- Within our messy lives—
- Within our vivid dreams—
- Within our ups & downs—
We experience times in our lives when we just cannot “fix” our problem.
It is then we realize the POWER FOUND IN THE GREAT PHYSICIAN!
Today, I will attend my pre-op appointment.
Months ago, the Lord revealed to me through my prayer time that my ‘fix’ was only found in HIM!
Thank You, God.
Many students and others have asked me as the end of the semester approached: “Are you afraid to have this back surgery,” to which I could confidently reply—
“The Lord Himself has provided me His calm & His peace.”
In the Bible, the psalmist writes, reminding us how we must never forget—
“God is our refuge and strength,
(The Psalms 46: 1-5 NASB)
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though it waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her,
she will not be moved;God will help her when morning dawns.”