“And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.””
Genesis 40:5-8 ESV
Before we get into this dream business and knowing the future we need to see the context clearly. This passage shatters the humanistic myths about “success” and presents the world aright…as the Lord our God sees it.
In other words, if you want to be “successful” in life you must heed the lessons here. And, as always, we must start with the fundamentals lest we botch the whole thing. So much confusion is averted, if not eviscerated, by simply adhering to the rule of the foundation. That is to say, before we begin any inquiry whatsoever, anything at all, we make sure to plant our feet square and sure upon truth.
Therefore, we ask and must always ask what is the standard of a thing and remember that no thing can be defined outside the plan of God. Since He is the Creator of all of life’s “stuff” all folly can come down to His creature attempting to define any of that stuff outside or parallel to Him.
So, here it is: by what standard do we gauge the success or failure of a man or woman?
The answer is painfully obvious. There’s no ambiguity in Scripture. Our problem is that we love the world and this terrible sin, this deep desire to rule and live on our own terms, according to our lusts and greed, blinds us to the true way.
In truth, it is faith that is the goal of life. Faith in and to Christ!
Faith is no such thing as the world says it is. It is what God says it is. Faith is loyalty, not mere feeling. Faith is dedication in thought, word, and deed to the One who saves us. A man who cheats on his wife just a few times is a cheater. Does it matter that ninety-nine percent of the time he’s faithful?
No.
But a man who doesn’t take out the trash or mow the yard, though he might be a little lazy, isn’t an adulterer. Let’s not confuse the issue by falling prey to the grave error of putting all sin in the same basket. In light of God’s utter and comprehensive righteousness, even our most devoted deeds, yes, even our most fervent prayers, are imperfect because of indwelling sin. That is certainly true. But what a level of absurdity it is to conclude, therefore, that a person whose thoughts wander during prayer is on par with an idolater. Or what nonsense it is to think that a man who notices a beautiful lady is the same as one who lusts in his heart. There are grades and levels to it all. Such is why a person who teaches is held to a higher standard than one who is taught.
Don’t use the absolutism of God’s righteousness as an excuse to be intellectually lazy. We are called to be holy and this will require that we, His created beings, grow in phases of glory, step by step, where and when we are. Not making this careful contextual distinction can lead to either spiritual carelessness or defeatism. Indeed, sin is always a powerful deceiver, which is precisely why we must study God’s word humbly.
The rule here, for our consideration, is that if our path to success brings us to a point where we must betray the Lord, our neighbors, or sin in any way…to compromise with the world at any turn, we are on the wrong path.
And this is where we meet Joseph, one of the Bible’s greatest “success” stories. At the point of his story today we find him, don’t forget, lower than a man’s circumstances could fathom. Betrayed by his own brothers! Sold into slavery by them! Then betrayed again by his master’s wife and cast into prison. To rot. To die.
And what exactly does this whole thing have to do with success in life? Good question. The answer: everything!
Do we think the Bible is written by men inspired by a Holy Spirit who has no plan? Heavens, no! God needs no editor. Every word is for us and our success.
In Joseph’s case we see something utterly astonishing.
His terrible plight hasn’t caused him to turn bitter.
That’s simply incredible. We think of the Michael Jordans and the Tom Bradys. We think of Ali. Steve Jobs. Those men were/are great, we think. Let’s watch, though, and see what God says. Let’s consider His holy standard and not our own.
Have you been tempted to give up through various trials? Have weeds of bitterness grown in your heart, choking out hope and joy? Has your love grown cold because of betrayal? Or have treacherous lies stung you and left angry welts upon your very soul, always itching and hurting? Or have the rampant troubles of the world around you cast you into disrepair?
Joseph is here. The Holy Spirit would call us to consider the man in this sad and low estate. Forget for the moment that you know where this is going. Forget his coming elevation and place yourself down there with the dregs. Joseph is a slave and prisoner and his whole life is utterly, by any reasonable reckoning, over. Totally over. He is as low as a bug and nothing more.
So, it’s probably true that none of us have experienced the struggles that Joseph has known and yet here he is. Do we catch that he noticed that the cupbearer and baker, freshly thrown into prison by Pharaoh, are depressed? A lesser man takes joy in the troubles of others. Isn’t that the reason tabloid journalism has always been so popular? We relish the falls and failures of others, especially those who are in stations higher than us.
But Joseph isn’t embittered even after all that’s been done to him. He goes about his duties, evidently with a contentment and trust in God that allows him to notice the sufferings of others.
We note that he recognized their plight and instead of rejoicing in their predicament, misery loving company and all that, he takes the time to get involved.
It’s easy to miss that these men can do him no good whatsoever. They’re in prison too! They’ve fallen out of grace with the king, so there’s nothing they can do for him. Look how our world is always working and see how we use people. We’re friendly only in such ways that reflect well on us and will go out of our way for those who can do us good. We call it “good business” to treat people well and think nothing of the fact that James roundly condemns the behavior of favoritism (James 2:1-9). Joseph has taken the time to learn the language of a heathen people. He’s no Hebrew snob who thinks he’s better than everyone around him. How many efforts of evangelism are thwarted because churchgoers manifest their disdain of others? How many could be brought to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ if His people earnestly saw their neighbors as Christ has seen us?
This is the secret to success right here!
It’s humble love of others due to the trust and love of God.
Joseph takes the time even in his misery to stoop and help others. And in doing so, he glorifies God’s name to them. If ever a man had the right to hate, to be bitter, to stop trying…yes, it’s Joseph. But what he does instead shows that character is destiny and character is either faithful to God or it’s not.
We are outcome obsessed for the most tragic of reasons: we resent that God controls the outcomes. The truth is that if we’re faithful, He will exalt us when, where, and how He sees fit. If we have trouble with grumbling, with impatience, with bitterness, it’s all because we truly, deep down, don’t believe that He’s good and means good to us.
In other words, if we live a life of complaints, of incessant striving and envy, and we’re bitter, our lives are screaming at the heavens. They scream, “God is a liar and I have been betrayed.” To that we leave you with this:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
Joseph is faithful in every station of his life in which God places him. And when evil pounds him into the ground, heaping heavy weights of scorn, lies, and betrayal upon scorn, lies, and betrayal, Joseph simply worships down there. It’s worship and faith alone that allows a man to truly succeed because the whole point of life is to know , love, and serve God.
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