“Biblical Approach to
Life”
Delays
Lettuce takes about 30 days to
grow. Some varieties of potatoes can
take between 90 and 150 days to cultivate.
What is the delay with the potatoes?
What takes them so long to produce?
Nothing. There is no delay and
they do not take a long time to grow.
They grow in the amount of time that it takes potatoes to grow. Many times we believe that there is a delay
in the answer to our prayers or we believe that God is delaying our
blessing. God has a time when He desires
to do something. Unless we know God’s
timing, we cannot determine that our blessing is delayed or that the answers to
our prayers are delayed. We will get
what God wants us to have WHEN He wants us to have it.
In Genesis 40, while Joseph is
imprisoned in Pharaoh’s prison, God provides Joseph with the opportunity to
interpret the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief cup bearer and his baker. After interpreting the dream of Pharaoh’s chief
cup bearer, Joseph requested that the cup bearer petition Pharaoh to have
Joseph released from prison. However,
after being released from prison, the cup bearer forgot about Joseph.
In Genesis 41, Pharaoh has a dream
that no one can interpret and the cup bearer finally remembers that Joseph has
the authentic ability to interpret dreams.
So he mentions Joseph to Pharaoh and Pharaoh has Joseph brought to him
to interpret his dream. After giving
Pharaoh the correct interpretation of his dream, Joseph’s life changed
instantly. He never returned to his cell
and he is placed in a position that requires him to answer only to Pharaoh.
On the surface, it may appear that
there was a delay in Joseph obtaining his freedom from prison. However, there wasn’t any delay at all. God is the One who gave Pharaoh a dream that
required a divine interpretation. This
brought about the need for the only person in Egypt who had been given the
divine ability to interpret dreams. Joseph
was released from prison when God determined that he should be released. If Joseph had been freed 2 years prior, he
would have been like fruit or vegetables that are harvested before they are ripe:
good for nothing. There would not have been any purpose for
Joseph to fulfill for Pharaoh. God
determined when the time was ripe and Joseph became beneficial to the
Egyptians, his father and his brothers, the Israelites who would come from the
lineage of his brothers, and the rest of the world that would have access to
salvation because of Christ who came from the Israelites through the lineage of
Judah.
Galatians 4:4-5
4 But when the
fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman,
born under the Law, 5 so
that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive
the adoption as sons and
daughters.
