Forgotten in Prison

Key Points

• God’s silence does not mean that God is absent.

• Joseph doesn’t know what God is orchestrating. We don’t need to know the full extent of God’s plan to be faithful to Him.

• While Joseph is suffering, he is still paying attention to other people’s suffering. Suffering does have the ability to turn us inward so that we focus only on our own pain. But God often gives us opportunities to serve others in the midst of our suffering.

• In the midst of suffering, God still empowers Joseph to do God’s work. God’s presence doesn’t get Joseph out of his circumstance. Instead, God empowers Joseph in the midst of his circumstances.

• Joseph models honesty and humility. He doesn’t want to be in prison, but he remains faithful while in prison. We don’t have to understand the reasons God has us where we are, but we do need to pursue faithfulness where God has us.

Application

• We might be like the cupbearer who forgets other people. God has put people along our paths, and we may have forgotten people along the way. Whom do you need to remember? (Genesis 40:23, Hebrews 13:3)

• We may—like Joseph—feel forgotten. We need to offer ourselves to God with honest humility. We need to tell God that we don’t want to be where we are and ask God’s help to be faithful where we are.