The Waiting Season – Dr. Hona Amer

Scripture:

“When morning came, he was upset. He sent for all the magicians and sages of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but they couldn’t interpret them to him. The head cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, ‘I just now remembered something—I’m sorry, I should have told you this long ago. Once when Pharaoh got angry with his servants, he locked me and the head baker in the house of the captain of the guard. We both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its own meaning. It so happened that there was a young Hebrew slave there with us; he belonged to the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us, each dream separately. Things turned out just as he interpreted. I was returned to my position and the head baker was impaled.’

Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph. They brought him on the run from the jail cell. He cut his hair, put on clean clothes, and came to Pharaoh. ‘I dreamed a dream,’ Pharaoh told Joseph. ‘Nobody can interpret it. But I’ve heard that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it.’

Joseph answered, ‘Not I, but God. God will set Pharaoh’s mind at ease’.” Genesis 41:8-16 (MSG)

Perspective:

We hate wasting time. Time is a precious commodity that we can never get back once it passes. If we are intentional, we go through life trying to make the most of our time, which is appropriate. But, sometimes along the way, we have to wait. And when our moment of waiting turns into a season of waiting, it can feel like God has forgotten about us.

Joseph had been left in prison for two years, forgotten by the cupbearer who promised to remember him. Joseph had been living a season of life where no one knew his name, but that was all about to change. While Joseph was going about his daily life in jail, God was working behind the scenes. God was working in the heart of the cupbearer whom Joseph had not spoken with for two years. He was working in Pharaoh’s heart by providing an opportunity for Joseph and Pharaoh to meet. While God was orchestrating all of this, Joseph had no idea any of it was happening. The jail cell probably felt like it was going to be his destiny. Joseph might have wondered if God had forgotten about him. When Joseph could have been asking “why” for two years, God was whispering in his silence, “Wait.” There was a certain alignment that needed to take place in Egypt for Joseph to be promoted to Pharaoh’s right hand man. As the days turned into years and the jail cell seemed darker and more grim, God was orchestrating people, events, and dreams to aid in the fulfillment of Joseph’s destiny. As Joseph was invited into the presence of Pharaoh and asked to interpret his dream, he understood that God would be the one who would reveal the interpretation. What Joseph didn’t know is that this moment was a divine encounter that would promote him from obscurity to a top leader in a foreign country.

You, like Joseph, might be in a season of life that feels forgotten. No one sees the hours you spend driving your kids to school; no one sees the sacrifices you have made to start your own business. No one sees the time you invest by volunteering for a ministry. But, God sees it all. And when it seems like He is doing nothing, He is working behind the scenes to help you. You might be asking God “why” today. It just doesn’t make sense why God would allow you to struggle. It doesn’t make sense why God has not promoted you even though you are prepared, skilled, and ready. But, as we ask why, maybe God is whispering to us, “Wait.” When our hearts are set on God, our time of waiting turns into time well spent. Even though it might not be what you would have planned in the short-term, God is looking at the whole of your life and takes that into account as He works in the people, events, and situations surrounding your life. So, lean into the season of waiting; your time is not being wasted. Because when it seems like God is doing nothing, you never know when God will give you a divine appointment with a king.