From Livestream
by Guest Speaker, Bro Wilhelm on April 30, 2017
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow: And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poorand very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do (Genesis 41:17–25, KJV).
Joseph was the favored son of Isaac and Rebekah. He was given a beautiful coat, and his brothers despised him for it. Through a series of events, Joseph was sold into slavery and then cast into prison. While in prison, he hears the dream of Pharaoh and the Lord gives him the interpretation.
Some of us are going through trials in this life that make us feel that we’re “barely making it.” Then, we can hear a Word from God, have our Pastor confirm it during Sunday’s service, and the walk right back out into the world and forget everything the Lord has told us.
God has told us that He will order our steps (Psalms 119:33), but it’s up to us to keep our prayer life in order to ensure that God can be present in our life to lead and guide us. We complicate God’s will too much—if we would just follow after Him and His presence, we’ll get all the answers, strength, and victory that we could ever need.
Jonah ran from the direct Word of the Lord (Jonah 1:1–2). But, the world around Him discouraged Him from doing what God told Him. If we allow the “bad” we hear about eat up the good Words of the Lord, we’ll be taken to the “bottom of the whale” just like Jonah. We cannot lose heart with the bad in this life—wait on the Lord (Psalms 27:14).
When God gave Joseph the interpretation of the dream, he told Pharaoh there would be 7 years of plenty and then 7 years of famine. He didn’t just focus on the bad of the situation, but highlighted the fact that there would be 7 years of good/plenty. It’s our job to get what we need in the times of good so we have enough to sustain us in the time of the bad.
Trials and tribulations will come to us in this life, but we cannot let them overcome us. We’re told not to announce the “bad” because the enemy will assume victory (II Samuel 1:20). Instead, let’s proclaim the good of the Lord and His gloriousness (Deuteronomy 32:2).
