Gifts Put to Use
Genesis 41: 33 “Now therefore, let
Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of
Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and
let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of
the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. 35 And let
them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up
grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
cities. 36 Then that food shall be as
a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the
land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”
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At a young age, Joseph was wise and was placed over
Potiphar’s household. He got practice managing the affairs of Potiphar and
learned how to lead by influence. But when Potiphar’s wife lied on him, he was
thrown into prison. Afterwards he was freed and was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. He
used his gifts to tell Pharaoh what to do with the dreams.
My Observations:
- GOD gave Joseph wisdom
to lead people.
- Joseph was exposed to
many difficult situations while managing Potiphar’s house.
- Joseph was maturing in
wisdom and may have used his “pit” situation as fuel for choosing his
words wisely.
Joseph did not say to Pharaoh, “You know, GOD gave me a
dream too! HE told me that people would bow to me!” Instead, Joseph used wisdom
and left his situation out of the solution. Joseph gave a pure answer to
Pharaoh’s huge problem. He also told Pharaoh the answer without expecting
anything for himself.
Pharaoh could take Joseph’s answer to the impending problem
and make it look like he came up with the solution. But this did not matter to
Joseph. He gave an answer based on GOD’s giftedness. He did not hold back the
solution or partially give it and say to Pharaoh, “If you put me in the
position I will tell you the rest.” Joseph remained pure to GOD.
Challenge
- Why does GOD tell Moses
about Joseph’s remedy?
- Is your desperation
causing you to hold back GOD’s gifts while you wait to be paid?
- Do you realize your
gifts that GOD gave you may positively impact the right person today?
