Quick Note : Genesis 40:5-8 – A Present Opportunity

Genesis 40:5-8 – “5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

We have all had times in which we missed an opportunity to do something great, because we did not have the foresight to see what a great opportunity it was at the time.  It happens all the time in investing; just look at Apple.  About ten to fifteen years ago, the company was about to go bankrupt with its shares selling at almost dirt-cheap prices, and now, it is at the top of its game in the hundreds of dollars a share.  If we had had the foresight to jump in back then, we could be millionaires today.  That is just with investing; in actuality, opportunities can be missed in every part of our life.  People have missed the chance to date and eventually marry wonderful people because of fear or a lack of being able to interpret the “signals.”  People have missed the chance to be in various careers, because they were not able to see the opportunity in education or work that was right in front of them.  People have even missed chances to do once in a lifetime things on vacations, because they could not tell how special that opportunity was.  But the worst opportunity to miss is the one to share the Gospel with a person, for losing the chance to be part of a person’s testimony is tragic.  That is why it is so important for Christians to learn to observe a situation and see the opportunities he has to be a witness for Christ in every moment of every day, for without expectation, there might just be a chance to be a witness for God.

In our passage today, Joseph became a witness of God’s power to two of Pharaoh’s servants just by being observant.  In Genesis 40, we find that Pharaoh threw two of his staff members into prison – his cupbearer and his baker, for reasons unknown to us.  Nonetheless, while in prison, both the cupbearer and the baker had a dream of which they had no interpretation; because of this, they were quite distraught and downtrodden.  Although nobody else might have noticed or cared, Joseph, realizing their trouble in vs. 6, asked them to share their dreams with him.  By observing their need and taking the time to address it, Joseph was able with God’s guidance and grace to interpret their dreams, acting as a witness of the One True God’s power (vs. 8).  This one event in which he was observant and caring eventually opened the chance for him to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and become the ruler of Egypt, acting as a witness of God’s mercy and power to all of Egypt (Gen. 41).  One choice to be observant and act on that observation resulted in a powerful witness of God’s power and love to a whole nation and quite possibly the world.

We need to be like Joseph and seize the harvest full of spiritual opportunities right in front of us.  Christ mentions in Matthew 9:37 that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.  So why aren’t we harvesting?  There are thousands of people everywhere who are downtrodden, broken-hearted, and are searching for the Savior; all they need is somebody to share the Gospel with them.  Yet too often, we miss these opportunities because our heads are in the clouds looking for the “bigger” opportunities or buried in our phones building “relationships.”  If we would just take the time to look, we will find that opportunities to share Christ with others abound, even if it may not be through physical talking.  Let us always live the life of Christ in our lives, acting as silent witnesses, but let us also take the initiative to show Christ through our actions and speech.  Let us study and be prepared to share the Gospel at any time, as 1 Peter 3:15 states, “…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”  If we want to share the Gospel, all we have to do is 1) Be observant, 2) Be caring, and 3) Be active.  Throughout today, look around you for those who may need Christ and go out and share the Gospel with them through your words and actions.  You will be surprised at what God will do.