Genesis 41; 9-14 “Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, ‘Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.  Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.’  So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh”.

Sometimes we focus on the wrong things.  What we have, what we want, everything in our little world.  A very self centred life that pays no attention to those around us and their own needs and wants and how we can ease their suffering.  Then one day the Lord comes to visit you through the eyes of a stranger, one whose eyes reflect desperation, hungry and hopelessness.  When that makes you reflect on all that you have done and jerks you back to the reality of life that life is not all about us.  There are others who are suffering and need deliverance.

God wants to shift our priorities today from our own world to the larger world that needs Him.  God wants to move our focus to the revelation that he has made us to help others in their struggle and pain so that they can find liberty and freedom from all that imprisons them.  God wants to liberate us from the bondage of self-centred thinking and living and move us to God-centred living.  When we live focusing on what God wants we can effectively minister to those who are hurting.

In today’s passage Joseph’s day of deliverance from injustice was dependent on the cup-bearer to the king.  Given that the king’s mind was troubled, the cupbearer as his most trusted servant would have been troubled too.  God used this troubled mind to shift the priorities of the cupbearer.  It was not just about himself and his world anymore.  He was made to recall his forgetfulness, ungratefulness and shortcomings.  He did not remember that though he was free there were others that he could help that were not.  Joseph was restored when God intervened through Pharaoh’s dreams and this forced the cup-bearer to roll back the curtain of remembrance.

Today let’s stop and reflect on our shortcomings and failures.  Who have we promised to help and they are still waiting for deliverance?  Who do we need to focus our attention on today?  Let us right now ask the Lord to forgive us and ask him to reveal where we need to intervene so that today will be the day of deliverance for a Joseph today.

PRAYER

Father, show me where and on whom you need me to focus my attention on. Forgive me for my shortcomings, failures, false promises.  I turn over a new leaf and ask for your mercy.  Help me to have your eyes of compassion as I seek to impact your world and bring deliverance to the hurting.  Amen.