Wow, that is really depressing.
Genesis 40
"Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men — the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison — had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?" 8 "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." 9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand." 12 "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon." 16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head." 18 "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh." 20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. 23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him."
Joseph was given some special gifts -- not only did he have dreams about the future that came true, he also could interpret dreams for other people. While proclaiming his dreams of supremacy to his family did not produce in them warm and fuzzy feelings and subsequently got him sold into slavery, Joseph's ability to interpret dreams does seem to help him out while he is languishing in prison. Until he is forgotten by the people he helps, that is.......
But, as Joseph will soon discover, and as I am routinely reminded, God does not forget. He does not allow His servants to slip over the brink into oblivion, or melt into the mist of obscurity, or fade in the light of brighter stars. God remembers His children, ALL of them, and He will not leave us languishing in the prison of existential despair for long.
I hope. ;)
Well said, Ryan. I often feel like I'm doing no good at all because I can't even go to work and bring light there. But then I have to remember that God uses His people in different ways--maybe I will blossom and see fruit in my lifetime; maybe not. In the meantime, I will try to obey God's leading and be where He wants me to be. Thanks for the uplifting reminder of The Great Rememberer.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled on your blog last night, and just now read this post. And it hit a chord with me. I don't know if you still feel this way - wondering if you're doing any good - and I don't know you, so it makes it difficult to give a good answer. However...
ReplyDeleteI was one of those who needed help, but didn't want it. I wasn't looking for it. About 8 months ago, I went on a trip with my town's youth group. I had to be there because my daughter was too young to go without a parent. A pastor of another church was also along on this trip. I ended up working beside him the last day of the trip, and was in the car with him for the three hour trip home - a trip which consisted of a discussion just between he and I on religion, God, life in general. From that day on, he did help me, even though I didn't realize I needed/wanted help. He taught me to believe in God again; showed me it's ok to trust and care about people; brought hope back into my life; got me to start going to church again (I even switched to his church). He has now left that church and this town, but the lessons he taught me will stay with me forever.
I guess what I'm trying to say... just because someone is in need of help but doesn't realize it or doesn't want that help, doesn't mean you can't help them. In fact, you probably are helping them much more than you realize. You just have to keep the door open, and be yourself, and have faith that God will lead them to that door in one way or another. Never assume you aren't helping someone just because that person hasn't said "Please help me."