What Dreams May Come... Pt. 2

3 Dreamers… all in a place they NEVER dreamed they would be.

One, Joseph, is in prison accused of a crime he did not commit.

But even as a prisoner, Joseph operated in the favor and blessing of God. God’s blessing could be seen or observed by those around him.

Two, The cupbearer to the king.

He did something that upset Pharaoh. He ended up under Joseph’s watch in the prison. He has a dream.

Genesis 40:9–10 NIV

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Joseph interprets the dream and reveals that the cupbearer will be restored to his formal position.

In this restoration, Joseph asks a favor of the cupbearer in verse 14.

Genesis 40:14 NIV

14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

Three, is the baker to the king.

He did something that upset Pharaoh. He ended up under Joseph’s watch in the prison. He has a dream.

Genesis 40:16–17 NIV

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

Joseph interprets the dream and… the interpretation is not good. The baker will be punished terribly for his actions.

Everything goes down just as Joseph had said.

The interpretations were accurate. One dreamer was restored, the other was executed… and the third was left in prison… The cupbearer fell short on the favor Joseph asked of him.

Joseph had been faithful to God through this entire situation… and now he had been forgotten by the man he showed compassion towards.

Faithful… but Forgotten

The cupbearer forgot to return the favor!

Genesis 40:23 NIV

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

FORGOTTEN!!! Joseph shows compassion regarding the two officials, but the one remaining official forgets to mention Joseph!

Imagine watching the two officials be called upon by Pharaoh and expecting to see some kind of turn around in the next few days. As each days passes… Joseph’s hope in the official began to diminish.

How far does the forgetfulness of the official go? TWO FULL YEARS GO BY!

The official may have forgotten to mention the kindness of Joseph to Pharaoh, but God had not forgotten Joseph.

We get no details of what took place in those two years. In fact, the time span would have gone on longer had something significant not taken place: Pharaoh… has a dream. We will talk more about that next week, but my point is God will use that dream to speak to Pharaoh and to bring Joseph back to the memory of the official who had forgotten him in prison.

Sometimes we might feel overlooked, or even forgotten in the eyes of this world. Sometimes we scratch someone’s back hoping they will scratch our in return… but it doesn’t always happen that way.

Should that keep us from blessing others? Absolutely not. The golden rule is treat others the WAY you want to be treated, not in the same way they treat you.

Joseph remains faithful although forgotten by the official. And God continues to bless him because of the position of his heart.

Joseph goes through a lot before he reaches the age of 30 years old. He experiences some unfavorable seasons… he finds himself in places he never dreamed of being… yet he kept his heart in the right place.

People might do you wrong. Circumstances might do you wrong. Seasons might go a direction you never expected. But God will NEVER do you wrong.

He may allow you to walk through difficult seasons, but He will never leave you or abandon you in those seasons.

And… God will use those seasons to increase our faith and trust in Him. His faithfulness to us is proven. We will remain faithful to Him?

Joseph’s God-given dream had not died because of his current circumstance. God’s dream for Joseph remained.

The world cannot take away from you that which the Lord has promised. Keep your eyes on Jesus and trust in Him to get your through.

GOD WILL NOT FORGET YOU.

Joseph was still in a place he never dreamed he would be… but he remained in the blessings and favor of God.

God had not forgotten the man He had given a dream to. Joseph’s dream had not yet come to fruition. Joseph was trusting enough to know… his day was coming.

If God has given you a dream that hasn’t happened yet… If He has given you a vision or direction and it hasn’t happened yet… do not be discouraged: YOU’RE DAY IS COMING.

When God makes a promise, He doesn’t forget those promises, He doesn’t overlook those promises, He doesn’t go back on His promises. God makes good on His promises!

God’s timing may not line up with our desired time line of events, but that’s okay! His timing is perfect! His ways are perfect! His plan is perfect!

HERE’S THE KEY: Do not mistaken a lack of patience of your part as God forgetting you where you are.

God has you where you are today… for His promises tomorrow. Doors are opening… or closing. Pieces are moving into place for God’s plan to come about at just the right time.

Remember what I asked last week regarding the timing of three dreamers landing in the same prison at the same time? There was no coincidence in this… God was in control!

He knew where Joseph would need to be to make a connection with a cup bearer… that would momentarily forget him.

BUT… when the time was right, God would bring the memory of Joseph back to the cupbearers mind for benefit of Pharoah.

Now think about this: Do you think the king would have appreciated Joseph more for coming to the aide of his cupbearer OR for coming to the aide of the king?

The favor Joseph asked of the cupbearer was forced… but what would come about in the years to come… came about because of the favor of God on Joseph’s life.

We can either operate in our own power or trust God’s power that is at work. You are not forgotten… God is simply cooking up something GOOD!

Closing

Now, we do not know exactly how Joseph behaved in the two years it took to be remembered… but we are given a clue in the next chapter.

That clue points to faithfulness. That clue indicates that Joseph is still choosing to honor God first.

Although he was in a place he never dreamed he would be and the favor he asked of the cupbearer failed… Joseph didn’t change course.

And I have to believe because Joseph KNEW his God-given dream would come.

Joseph may have not chosen this particular path to get there… but he knew what was ahead. He chose to not become bitter… instead He chose to remain blessed.

Don’t forget… that God doesn’t forget!

We might feel forgotten or overlooked at times… but when it comes to God… He never forgets.

Keep on mission… DON’T FORGET THE DREAM! Hold on to the promise and remain faithful.

Mankind might forget… shoot… you might even forget… but God will never let you down.

Be patient, persevere, and remain in His promise. God will honor your faithfulness.