It wasn’t until I was in seminary that I realized how tricky time is in the Bible. I was sitting in my Old Testament class, and we were studying a psalm of lament. The psalms of lament are psalms in which the writer cries out to God in despair and makes some kind of complaint or shares some kind of grief. Scholars estimate that anywhere from one-third to 70% of the 150 psalms in the Bible are psalms of lament. These psalms are remarkable because the writers do not hold back. They share their anger, their fear, their worry with God, and almost every single time, they conclude their psalms with a statement of trust in God. 

My Old Testament professor said something like, “We have no way of knowing how much time passed between when the psalmist wrote their laments to God and when they wrote the verse of trust. It could have been five minutes, or it could have been five years.” When she said that, I started thinking about the many songs and poems I’ve written over the years. I might start a song and forget about it for years. Or, I’ve begun a poem and worked away at it over the course of weeks, or even months. Was it possible that the psalm writer wrote a psalm of anger and grief and didn’t add the statement of trust and faith until some time had passed? Absolutely. I don’t know why that thought had never occurred to me before.

In the case of our passage about Joseph, we have the benefit of a little verse at the beginning of chapter 40 to let us know some time has passed. Our passage begins, “Some time after this,” “this” being the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, in which she accuses Joseph of harming her, and Joseph is thrown into prison. The writer tells us that Joseph has been in prison for some time, but we have no idea how long that time was. But, it’s important to know he’s been there for a while. I can imagine he was struggling. He was sold by his brothers, managed to finally get into a better place in his life, and then he was thrown away again. 

While in prison, Joseph gained the trust of the captain of the guard, and he put Joseph in charge of some of the other prisoners, namely Pharaoh’s cupbearer and Pharaoh’s baker. The text says Joseph “waited on” these men, and while he was doing this, he noticed that two of them seemed upset. He asked them, “Why are your faces downcast today?” and the men answered that they’ve both had dreams they cannot understand. 

Do you remember why Joseph’s brothers hated him? He was the favorite of their father, and he was a dreamer. Here Joseph finds himself in prison with other dreamers. Here, during a difficult, and dark time in his life, he is called upon to use his gifts and remain faithful to who God has called him to be.

He could’ve turned his back on dreams. He could’ve felt resentful about this gift he had. After all, it had only caused him pain and heartache. Instead, he tells the men that the interpretation of dreams belongs to God, and he listens to their dreams. One man has a dream with a positive meaning, and the other has a dream with a negative meaning. Joseph tells both men what their dreams mean, and both interpretations end up coming true.

I am amazed by the way Joseph continues to remain faithful and to care about others, even after being wounded and rejected by the people around him so many times. I don’t know about you, but when I am wounded by others, I struggle to keep reaching out in love and kindness. My instinct is to protect myself. My instinct is to build a wall around myself so that I can stay safe. I wouldn’t have blamed Joseph for hardening his heart and for forcing himself to forget about the humanity of his fellow prisoners, but he doesn’t do that. He sees these two men and sees they are hurting, and he asks how they are, and listens to their dreams.

This story of Joseph teaches us at least two things: opportunities for faithfulness and kindness are everywhere, and God does not forget about us, even when people do. First, there are opportunities for faithfulness and kindness everywhere, even in the most difficult of places. 

First, opportunities for faithfulness and kindness are everywhere, even when we are in the dungeon. I recently came across the story of William Cowper, a well-known poet and hymn writer. During Cowper’s life, he was one of the most widely-read English poets of his day, and three of his hymn texts can be found in our red hymnals. Cowper was born in 1731 to Reverend John and Anne Cowper. His mother died when he was only six years old, and he was then sent to boarding school, where he faced repeated bullying. After going through more difficulties, in 1763 Cowper made an attempt on his life, and ended up at Nathaniel Cotton’s Collegium Insanorum, a private asylum for helping people through mental health crises. Unlike many of the asylum’s of its time, the Collegium Insanorum helped people find things to occupy themselves with, provided them supervision, and also gave them access to Scripture.

While there, Cowper experienced a religious conversion and began writing powerful texts about God’s presence with him in times of crisis. One of those beautiful texts is on page 800 in our red hymnals: “Sometimes a Light Surprises.” 

Sometimes a light surprises the child of God who sings

It is the Lord who rises with healing in his wings

When comforts are declining, he grants the soul again

A season of clear shining to cheer it after rain

Or, take the words of verse 3 of #30 “O God, in a Mysterious Way.”

O fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds so much you dread

Are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head

When Cowper was released from the asylum, he teamed up with famous hymn writer John Newton (who wrote “Amazing Grace” and many other hymns) to publish a collection of religious verses called Olney Hymns in 1779.

Opportunities for faithfulness are everywhere. Joseph encountered an opportunity in the dungeon. William Cowper experienced the grace of writing hymns and prayers to God while in an asylum and at his breaking point. Friends, if you find yourself experiencing difficulty–like, struggling with new physical limitations, or you’re out of work, or in a new job that seems so different from what you did before that you aren’t sure how to bring your whole self to the task, there are opportunities for faithfulness everywhere. If you’re the shy, awkward kid at school, or the popular kid who is in every activity, there are opportunities for faithfulness everywhere. Joseph went from interpreting his own dreams, to helping others understand their dreams, but God was continually placing opportunities before him to serve, to love, and to show kindness, even in seemingly small ways.

There are opportunities for faithfulness everywhere, and God does not forget about us, even when people do. When Joseph interprets the first dream, he says to the cupbearer, “But remember me when it is well with you; please do me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place. For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me in the dungeon.” That seems like such a small thing to ask, right? Especially after hearing the wonderful interpretation Joseph gave him. Surely, once the cupbearer was restored to his position of power and influence in Pharaoh’s house, he would remember Joseph. But, at the very end of this story, we read this: “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot about him.”

I’m as forgetful as the next person. Probably even more. A man once told me, “My forgetter is getting better and better,” and wow did I relate to that. But, someone who assured me my life would be spared? Someone who comforted me during my darkest time? I have a hard time thinking I’d forget about what they did for me. But, that’s exactly what the cupbearer did. As soon as Pharaoh gave him his job back and spared his life, he forgot Joseph. Even after Pharaoh’s baker received the horrible outcome of his dream, the cupbearer didn’t pause in gratitude or take a moment to remember Joseph. He just went back to work as usual.

We are assured that even when people forget us, God never does. In Isaiah 49, we read, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.”

I once heard the story about a mother and her little girl who were standing outside of a church after a funeral service. A woman–the girl’s teacher–came down the steps of the church, with a black veil over her face. She said hello to the girl and walked away. The little girl stood with her mouth open and she said to her mother, “I’ve seen God.” Surprised, the mother asked her daughter how she knew that person was God. The little girl said, “No one can see God, but God is close by, and God knows our names.” 

God does not forget us, even when the rest of the world has passed us by. And God provides us opportunities all the time, every day, even in the most unexpected of places to be faithful and to use our gifts. Friends, how is God calling you today? Where is God calling you to reach out with faithfulness, even in the smallest and unexpected of ways? Perhaps, as you reach out to others, they will realize that God has not forgotten them either. May God help us to remain faithful, just as God remains faithful to us. Amen.