Genesis 41:1-40
Many years have passed since Joseph was first sharing his dreams with his brothers. Now, he's interpreting dreams for the king of Egypt, and it seems that he has been humbled a bit by the envents of his life. Way back when he was sharing his dreams with his brothers one couldn't miss at least a twinge of arrogance or entitlement. I imagine him standing before them wearing his father's gifted, multi-colored coat as he tells his brothers his dream that one day they will all bow before him. Given the rivalry between he and his brothers, fostered by their father's favoritism, had Joseph behaved with a bit more humility back then his dreams might not have fanned the flames of jealousy and envy the way they did.
Now, we see Joseph much more mature in his faith, and much more humble in his emotion. He is summoned to interpret the King's troubling dreams. Humbly and faithfully, Joseph claims no power to do anything, but that God will reveal to the king what is meant by the dreams. The arrogance, and the sense of entitlement are gone from Joseph. In it's place are humility and faithfulness.
Life has a way of humbling us. When we look upon our lives and see all the mistakes we have made over time, we can become pretty discouraged with ourselves. Too much humilty and we become pretty down-trodden people. When life gets us down, we need the intervention of God to pick us back up. God works through His Word, the sacraments, prayer, and the gifts and talents of other people.
Think about all the times when you've been down on yourself, and the hand of God reached out to lift you up in some way.
God gives to us the gift of faith. With faith, we begin to see our lives in the light of what God has been doing with us throughout our lifetime. When we look at our lives through the lens of faith we see that God was with us offering much needed mercy, direction, and encouragement through everything. With faith, humility is buffetted by hope. However, faith without humility can becme intollerable. It comes across as arrogant, flighty and even judgmental. The two together, humility and faithfulness, provide balance to our lives as we mature.
Joseph demonstrates maturity by his humble, yet faithful response to the King's request.
Today, think about all the times in your life when God has been with you teaching humility, but all the while working through faith to keep you hopeful.
O God, you have been there with me through every poor decision, every act of poor judgment, every consequence I've had to endure. Thank you for your faithfulness in me. Keep me humble, but also keep me faithful that through all of life's challenges I will remain hopeful. In Jesus' name. Amen
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