Why did Joseph continue to serve God? And why would he want to help his captors? By the time he appeared before Pharaoh, he had been held as a slave in Egypt for thirteen years. Worse yet, he had spent two of those years in prison, falsely accused of rape because he had done the right thing, refusing to have an affair with his master’s wife. Thirteen years of injustice and oppression is enough to make many people bitter.

And maybe that’s how you feel today. Maybe you’ve given up on God. Maybe you just don’t understand why there’s so much injustice in the world or why so many bad things keep happening to you.

But notice that Joseph doesn’t make excuses for God, denying that God is in charge of everything. Over and over again, he tells Pharaoh that God Himself will bring seven years of famine on the whole region. And Joseph doesn’t just believe that God has foreknowledge of natural phenomena that are somehow beyond His control. No, Joseph clearly says, “The matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about” (41:32). Joseph thus affirms God’s sovereign power over all the events of history – and that would have to include his own thirteen years of captivity.

But in the midst of his suffering, Joseph continued to give God the glory. Instead of being proud of his own ability to interpret dreams, Joseph kept affirming that it is only God Who can reveal future events (41:25, 28). Moreover, Joseph used his God-given knowledge of dreams to bless and serve even those who had stolen his liberty. He humbled himself before wicked, godless people and tried to warn them of the danger to come.

And isn’t that the same sort of thing Jesus did for all of us? He could have abandoned us in our sin. He could have rejected the Father’s will that He go to the cross. But instead of bitterness, He chose love. He humbled Himself before the Father and before sinners like us, dying to give us the salvation and forgiveness that we need so that the Father might receive all the glory.

So, if we can’t deny that God is in charge of everything that has happened to us, which path will we choose today? In the face of injustice and in the midst of all our problems, will we cling to bitterness and unbelief? Or will we follow Jesus, trusting God’s sovereign wisdom, and serving others, even those who have hurt us the most?

Genesis 41:25-32 (NASB)

25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
26 “The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.
27 “And the seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28 “It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29 “Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;
30 and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will ravage the land.
31 “So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.
32 “Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.