Genesis 129 – Encountering a Dream – Part 1

God's word is from Genesis chapter 40, verses 1 through 8.

“Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”  “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.””

Amen.

Joseph's Prosperity: Blessing in Prison

After Joseph obeyed God's word for the first time, he paradoxically lost everything he had and ended up imprisoned as a criminal. The master who had trusted him put him in prison, and borrowing the psalmist's expression, he found himself in prison with fetters on his feet and an iron collar around his neck. According to the psalm, he did not endure this prison life stoically without great difficulty, but was experiencing pain and hardship.

Even in such a situation, he met another person who believed in him, the chief jailer. The jailer, having observed Joseph closely, discovered that he was very different from others. And he realized that wherever Joseph was, God was always with him. Perhaps he witnessed many times how Joseph's work brought unexpected blessings to the people around him, changing their lives.

Therefore, the jailer increasingly entrusted the management of more prisoners to Joseph. This was because he frequently saw that after Joseph took charge, many prisoners and people around them received many benefits and blessings. Even in prison, Joseph became a source of blessing.

This must have been an incredibly surprising event for Joseph as well. Because even in such a prison, he personally witnessed the people around him receiving blessings because of him. So, although he likely did not doubt that this was the fulfillment of God's word, His covenant, objectively speaking, an unspeakable feeling of resentment must have stirred within him. Because he was now in prison under a false accusation.

Yet, again in that prison, he gained recognition and was entrusted with many tasks. So perhaps his imprisonment was more comfortable than before. However, it must have been a truly ambiguous situation, whether to simply rejoice and be happy about such things, or to plan revenge against the enemy who had him imprisoned under a false accusation he did not commit.

God's Presence and Covenant Fulfillment

In that situation, Joseph held two convictions in his heart. As we saw last week, the first was the fact that God was with him. And the second was the fact that God's word, His covenant, was being fulfilled in him.

Our Prosperity: Joy and Peace Amidst Suffering

The Bible describes the fulfillment of these two things in Joseph as "Joseph prospered."

Let us examine our own situation in contrast to Joseph's. Are you convinced that God is with you? Yes, Amen. The basis for this can be found in the word Immanuel, which God gave us. Immanuel, Jesus Christ, came to be with us.

Then, have God's promises been fulfilled for you? The promise that God would save His people through the suffering servant, Jesus Christ, and that ultimately the Son of God would come to this earth and give His life for us, has finally been fulfilled.

Now, you have answered Amen to the promise that God is with you, and you have also said Amen to the fulfillment of God's covenant in your lives. Then, like Joseph, you are living a prosperous life.

Even if things happen that make you angry, even if physical illness comes and makes you weary and pained, even if you are troubled and frustrated by many problems that are not immediately resolved, we are people experiencing prosperity within that. Whatever problem you face, however you solve that problem, whatever situation that problem leads you to, your most fundamental situation starts from prosperity. You encounter all these things within God's prosperity.

Therefore, the Bible says about these things, 'You can overcome them with joy.' Because we are people in the midst of God's prosperity. Because you and I are walking that path. Likewise, Joseph was also within God's prosperity.

'After These Things': 11 Years of Silence

That story begins at the end of chapter 39, last week's sermon, and moves into today's sermon text, chapter 40. Today's story begins like this. 'After these things, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt.' Two new characters you know well appear.

But the word connecting chapters 39 and 40 appears at the very beginning of chapter 40. It is 'After these things.' You should always circle these kinds of words in the Bible. Because such conjunctions or words play a very important role in understanding the context of the Bible.

Within the phrase 'After these things' in today's text, a long period of 11 years is implied and included. Between these two chapters, the flow of 11 years is hidden. Would you like it if time could pass this quickly? A full 11 years have passed. Therefore, if we do not look a little deeper, we will miss something in this text.

The Appearance of the Two Officials (Sar)

After verse 39, Joseph remained imprisoned for 11 years. So, entering chapter 40, what must Joseph's state of mind have been? Content that allows us to guess Joseph's feelings, even a little, is found in his conversation with Potiphar.

One day, Potiphar came to Joseph and made a request. It concerned the officials in charge of the king of Egypt's wine and bread. However, the Hebrew word used here, 'sar' (שַׂר, H8269), does not simply refer to an official, but means the head of the officials. Potiphar, mentioned here, was also the 'sar', the chief, of the king's guard. Therefore, these two officials were people of very high status in Egypt.

This word 'sar', if we delve deeper, also has the meaning of eunuch. Putting all these facts together, it means these two men were highly trusted individuals in the king's inner circle.

Potiphar's Command and Joseph's Heart

These men incurred the king's displeasure and were put into the prison within Potiphar's house. This indirectly shows the level of position Potiphar held. When two men the king highly valued committed a crime, he did not send them to a regular prison but put them in the prison in Potiphar's house.

At this time, Potiphar called Joseph and commanded him to pay special attention from now on, to take good care of and serve these two men.

Trust Endures Even After 10 Years of Imprisonment

It might seem like a minor event, but for Joseph, it was 10 years after he had been unjustly imprisoned under a false accusation. And before his eyes stood Potiphar, who had no intention of clearing his name and had thrown him into that prison believing only his wife's lies. We can easily imagine how much hardship Joseph endured during those more than 10 years.

Yet, ironically, even after 10 years, Potiphar entrusted that important task to Joseph. If you were in Joseph's position, how would you feel? The person who made no effort to prove his innocence and threw him into the prison within his own house for 10 years was now ordering him to do work.

Potiphar still undoubtedly trusted Joseph. Nevertheless, he had no intention of releasing Joseph, and Joseph had no idea how long he would have to spend time in that prison. So, what must Joseph's heart have been like? It would be truly difficult for us to easily fathom his feelings.

Joseph's Transformation: Sincere Service

However, today's text presents a situation where events unfold in a completely different direction than we might imagine. Although Joseph is a prisoner, he is currently in charge of the prison affairs, so he is capable of doing the work Potiphar assigned. This is because the chief jailer had entrusted such responsibility to Joseph.

But this time, Potiphar personally sought out Joseph and made the request. Because Potiphar knew well what kind of person Joseph was. Nevertheless, he did not permit Joseph to be freed from his status as a prisoner.

When Joseph, having undertaken this task, met the two officials who had become prisoners in the morning, both their faces looked unwell. And Joseph politely asked the two officials the reason for this.

In a way, it might sound like a natural thing to do. But thinking again, this task was assigned by the very person who had caused him 10 years of unjust imprisonment. Would we really have had the heart to do that work well? It would not have been easy to find the heart to go to them early in the morning, see their downcast faces, and inquire about the reason for their worry.

Iain Duguid's Commentary: Joseph's Sincerity

Iain Duguid, a pastor well-versed in Hebrew, read this passage and added commentary to this effect. 'In this passage, Joseph is not acting as a prisoner, but rather approaches them with sincerity, as if accepting them as very close people, asking about their well-being and what worries they have, using Hebrew words and sentences that carry this nuance.' Thus, Joseph is not just offering superficial, empty greetings, but out of genuine concern, he is asking the worried officials if anything happened last night, inquiring about their well-being.

Young Joseph vs. Joseph in Prison

At this point, you might think this is a very different Joseph from the one you knew until now. The Joseph we knew was the one who wore the coat of many colors, went to where his brothers were working hard, and said things that offended them. But in today's passage, Joseph's sincere actions make us easily feel that he is quite different now from before.

Service of One with Nothing to Protect

Even when he was in Potiphar's house, managing all the household keys, he only made efforts to protect the position he had finally obtained. Therefore, when faced with a difficult situation, his action was to flee. He tried to protect his position even by doing so.

But now Joseph, who has become a prisoner with nothing left to protect, is trying to serve someone sincerely despite having been imprisoned for 11 years. That is why Joseph's actions in today's text are astonishing.

As will be mentioned later, even after helping them and resolving their difficulties, nothing happened for Joseph for another 2 years. Of course, he probably didn't serve them hoping for such an outcome. They were serious criminals facing death, and helping them now was unlikely to bring about any significant result. Nevertheless, Joseph is helping them sincerely.

The Wilderness Time: Hidden Growth

During the 11 years of prison life where nothing changed, during those 11 difficult years without any freedom, Joseph changed. We can often find hidden times like Joseph's 11 years in the Bible.

Paul's Arabian Wilderness

One example is the Apostle Paul's time in the wilderness mentioned in Acts. Paul, after meeting Jesus Christ, did not immediately convert and embark on missionary journeys. However, the Bible records very little about the time in between. All we know is that he went to the Arabian wilderness and spent time there with Jesus Christ. But the Bible is silent about what happened in that wilderness during that time. Why is that? Because that is the characteristic of the wilderness.

The Meaning of Suffering: Relying Only on God

Joseph, likewise, was imprisoned for 11 years in a prison similar to the wilderness where Paul was. And through such time, one constantly thinks about how to endure and live through this time, and why God brought us to such a place.

We all have times in our life diaries that we never want to read again, parts we wish we could just cut out. Times that were so hard and difficult we hate to remember them, times when no one looked after us and no one comforted us – such times exist for all of us.

But have you ever thought about the reason such times were permitted for you? What was the reason for sending the Israelites into the wilderness after they crossed the Red Sea? It was to teach the Israelites, who until then thought they lived by bread alone and relied on their own strength for what went into their mouths, the fact that God alone is their strength, and that they cannot rely on anything other than God. For this purpose, God drove them into the wilderness.

Prosperity in the Wilderness: Grace in Contradiction

At moments like this, I am amazed at the fact that I believe in Jesus, and I am amazed at myself for being a pastor able to preach such words. And I am incredibly amazed and grateful that the audience for such words is a Christian community.

Our God sent us into the wilderness, humbled us there, made us rely only on Him, and made us pass through difficult moments where our hearts cracked like parched ground, yet the Bible calls that time 'our prosperity.' Who could preach such a sermon with grace? Who could call such a time of hardship 'prosperity'? It is nonsensical talk. And yet, the Bible calls it 'prosperity.'

In modern prisons, inmates might be able to learn something during their abundant time, accumulate knowledge by reading many books and studying, or perhaps achieve some enlightenment through contemplation and meditation. However, the time in the wilderness for the Israelites and Joseph's time in prison were slightly different. There were two distinguishing features.

First was the fact that God was always with them. Second was that during this time, God's covenant was fulfilled. That is why amazing things happened, where those around them received blessings. These things happened in this wilderness and in the prison.

Suffering Endured Because God is With Us

It is truly a gracious story. We often hear testimonies of how God was with someone even in extremely difficult situations, like being dropped in a waterless desert. It is undoubtedly something to be very thankful for. Because even though I was in such a difficult situation, the Lord never abandoned us but was with us.

However, we can also look at this matter from a slightly different perspective. It is precisely because God was with us that we entered the wilderness. It is because God was with us that we had to live in prison. Because God does not let me walk my own path and live my own life, but makes me live the life of a child of God, the path of that child. Because that path is not the wide road, but the narrow road. Because it is not my path, but the path walked with Christ.

The Narrow Path: Being Molded as God's Children

So, after making us walk that path we neither expected nor desired, the Bible boldly calls that path 'the path of blessing' and 'prosperity.' And it says that path is the path where God is with us, the path He delights in.

If there is anyone among you who has already passed through that path, that dark tunnel, you might be able to recall God who was with you during that difficult moment and give thanks. However, if there is anyone currently passing through that dark tunnel at this moment, it might be difficult for you to give thanks and praise God with these words. You might feel angry, or feel as if you are being teased.

You might find it utterly incomprehensible how you can be walking this difficult and dark path precisely because God loves you so much and is with you. And you will retort, 'Does this truly make sense? Does God really love me?' It is a very natural question.

However, the presence of God does not make all the hardships comfortable, nor does the narrow path become wide. Even walking this narrow path with God, good things do not always await us at the end, nor does it always lead us to a land with rosy flower paths. The reason God makes us walk that narrow path, a wilderness like a prison, is to shape us into people who rely only on God.

The Process of Knowing God

It is to make us realize that when God is in our lives, everything becomes safe, abundant, and like possessing all things. That is why God drives us onto that path. On that path, we do not experience our entire lives changing into what we desire, but we come to finally know the God who is with us. We come to realize who He is, how abundant He is, and why He becomes our joy.

The Importance of Knowing God: The Core of True Faith

You have believed in Jesus. You have confessed that you believe in God, and you have gathered here today for this worship service. Then, what should you consider most important in your faith? What is the most crucial thing that can determine your faith? Is it in our effort of coming to this place of worship today and worshiping God? Or is it in my diligence in reading the Bible or praying?

The most important thing in all these acts of faith is that we correctly know who God is. How much do you know God? How much do you know Jesus Christ?

Joseph's Confession: Realizing Prosperity in the Wilderness

Even Joseph could have lived without recognizing God's companionship. He could have simply dismissed all the good things happening around him as mere luck. But he did not do that. He did not overlook even the smallest event that occurred in his life.

That is why Joseph is able to make this confession. The two officials are, in a way, the result of Joseph's prison life, which was like a wilderness. He constantly questioned what the true fetters binding his life were, who the true master of his life was, and what meaning frustration held for him. But on the other hand, he must have spent time in prison feeling upset that there seemed to be no one helping him in his difficult life, 고민ing about what he should rely on now, and deeply contemplating what true happiness is.

Although Joseph's life in prison is not detailed in the Bible, his story shows us that it is flowing towards one conclusion. Joseph began to realize that all his moments of worry, times he burst into tears, felt upset, spent sleepless nights due to hardship, or days that seemed peaceful – all these moments were God's prosperity.

Dreams and Worries: The Anxiety of the Two Officials

This Joseph, seeing the two officials looking unwell, warmly inquires about their well-being. And he learns that the cause of their anxiety was the strange dreams both had dreamt the previous night. These two men had similar dreams simultaneously and realized the dreams had some deep meaning, but there was no one who could explain it to them.

Joseph's First Ministry of Dream Interpretation

In the midst of this, they met Joseph. Joseph interpreting dreams appears for the first time in today's text. Although he had dreamt before, the scene of him interpreting a dream is first seen in today's text.

Brothers' Interpretation vs. Joseph's Interpretation

Previously, the ones who interpreted Joseph's dream were his brothers. Regarding the dream where the sheaves and stars bowed down to him, the brothers interpreted it as Joseph becoming their king and ruling over them, leading them to become angry with Joseph and envy him. They even intended to kill him. They thought that then the content of the dream would not come true.

They certainly interpreted it that way, and much of their interpretation was not wrong. Although it didn't happen exactly like their interpretation, they eventually bowed down to Joseph, and they would live in Egypt, which Joseph ruled as prime minister. It is not a completely wrong interpretation.

However, strictly speaking, that interpretation is wrong. Because the hearts of those who interpreted it were wrong.

The Heart of Bible Interpretation: Beyond Knowledge to Obedience

The Bible often cannot be explained solely by grammar, or historical or contextual interpretation, as we well know. Professor Robert Godfrey, a Dutch theologian who spent his entire life in the Reformed church, once mentioned in his writings that he thought the true meaning of preaching was to better translate the Hebrew of the Old Testament into the vernacular. That is how much the Reformed church emphasized grammatical explanation of Bible passages. They placed great importance on explaining what meaning each word carried, its precise significance, and the background in which the word was used.

This is actually very important for properly understanding the Bible. However, the most crucial aspect of the story of the brothers interpreting Joseph's dream is the brothers' attitude towards Joseph's dream. After offering their interpretation of Joseph's dream, instead of thinking that God intended to give or accomplish something for their family through Joseph, and thus leading the interpretation to its rightful place to glorify the amazing God, they instead envied Joseph and sought to kill him.

The act of reading the Bible, studying the Bible, or reading and studying excellent Christian books is extremely important, and you must certainly be diligent in it. But above all else, what the Bible demands of us is to guard our hearts.

Experiencing the Word in the Holy Spirit

This is precisely why we pray to the Holy Spirit and read the Bible. If we do not rely on the Holy Spirit when reading the Bible, we might gain knowledge from it, experience some level of emotion, and perhaps enjoy the pleasure of realizing new things. But you can never experience the mysterious transformation of our character by God working in our individual lives and circumstances. Those amazing events where God's word comes alive and moves within our hearts will not be possible.

I am concerned that despite our longing for and cherishing God's word, these activities might end up merely satisfying ourselves, and that obedience to God's word flows only towards pleasing oneself and others, rather than God. When we read God's word, we must genuinely and carefully check if we are relying on the Holy Spirit, and this is something all of us, including myself, must pay special attention to.

When we approach the Bible, knowing the background knowledge of my own knowledge or thoughts, and the biblical stories, and reading the content is important. Since this approach is very rational and scientific, perhaps even people who do not know God at all could read the Bible in this way. One of the scholars I am acquainted with does not believe in Jesus, but when reading the Bible, he sometimes grasps what could be called deep biblical insights, deeper than many others, and shares them with me. This is because he is not only proficient in Greek and Hebrew but also has an excellent poetic and literary sense, enabling him to point out aspects we might overlook while reading the Bible without paying attention. But sadly, there is no life in his reading of the Bible.

Among you, there might be those who have heard countless sermons and have read the entire Bible multiple times. If such a person is present here today, I ask you to please listen carefully to the story we are sharing. Examine with what kind of heart you are approaching God's word in the Bible, for what purpose you are reading this Bible, and when you are reading this Bible, are you truly relying on the Holy Spirit?

God's Dream Interpretation: Joseph's Confession

With this mindset, let us examine Joseph's interpretation in today's text. While we cannot cover all of Joseph's interpretations of these dreams today, I want to look at the very first thing Joseph said, which can determine everything else.

The two officials in prison are worried because they do not know how to interpret the content of their dreams. At such a time, a typical person would first ask them to tell the content of the dream. Then they would attempt to interpret the dream. But Joseph did not approach it that way.

Joseph did not listen to the dream stories from those men and then, based on his own wisdom, interpret the dreams in his own way to surprise people with his interpretation. Instead, Joseph says that all interpretation belongs to God. He says the interpretation of the dream belongs not to him, but to God.

Considering his previous actions, this is truly uncharacteristic of Joseph. He was the boy who boasted about his coat of many colors to his brothers. And he was indeed a self-centered person. But during the 10 years Joseph spent in prison, God, not himself, slowly became the master in his heart.

During that period, he must have constantly thought about who his master was. During that time when he couldn't even solve his own life problems, he must have constantly asked himself who he was, what kind of life he had lived in the past, and pondered who the true master of his life was. And the conclusion Joseph reached was this: 'It belongs to God.' Truly an amazing confession.

The Interpreter of Life: God

How about you? Therefore, his interpretation inevitably became an interpretation of what God was doing. And looking at the lives of the two men, he could equally say, 'Your lives too are in God's hands.' The word 'interpretation' used in the text does not simply mean grasping the meaning, but includes the sense that the event will surely happen that way. Because this is God's work.

So, I will ask you the same question. Where does your life lie? By what are you interpreting your life? Among those present here, there is a diverse range from their 20s to over 90 years old. If you were to express your life in one word, what would you say? Or what would you call the life you have lived so far? Is the question too difficult? When you prepare your answer to this question, who is the standard for interpreting your life? Is it the world? Or is it ourselves?

Joseph states it clearly. He says the master of the interpretation is God. Joseph tells us that the one who can interpret my life is not me, but God. For us believers, we do not have the right to interpret our own lives. Of course, the same applies to others. You don't need to pay any attention whatsoever to what other people say about your life. It is useless. Did you have any wounds in your childhood? Just let it go and forget it. It is nothing.

Because the one who truly knows your life well, settles your life's accounts, and determines the meaning and value of the life you have lived is God Himself. It is not any person, including myself. Only God is the sovereign of our lives and the one who interprets the meaning of our lives.

This fact became the most important truth that God taught Joseph, held him firmly, and disciplined him for over 10 years. God made him the Joseph he is now, and he became a person who could confidently confess that his life belongs to God.

The Value of a Life Belonging to God

We often confess that our lives are not ours, but God's. But do you properly understand the true meaning of that confession? If your life belongs to God, can you imagine what the value of your life might be? Can you truly fathom what kind of life your life is? Have you ever imagined what is included in the life of one who belongs to God?

The Bible speaks of this fact through Joseph, a prisoner who seems to have nothing and to have lost everything in the world. In the world's eyes, Joseph is just an ordinary prisoner confined in a worthless-looking prison. No one, including Potiphar, pays him any attention. He is just a prisoner who can be used briefly when needed. He was just a prisoner to be called upon and used when someone needed brains or hard labor. But to God, this Joseph was an entirely different being.

The Value of Biblical Figures: Found in God

The Bible features many stories of similar figures. King Zedekiah deliberately visits Jeremiah in prison to seek advice. Because Jeremiah possessed the word of God. The value of his life was in God's word.

This is not all. When Samson was finally imprisoned, everyone mocked him. Even the Israelites probably ridiculed him. They would have loudly mocked him, saying, "He boasted of being a judge and acted so high and mighty, but look how powerlessly he was captured, his eyes gouged out, falling to the bottom of life." How is your life? A little better than Samson's? Yet, are you still holding onto your life tightly, unable to let go?

In his final moment, Samson let go of himself, the self he had held onto so tightly. Because he finally saw his life through God's eyes. Because he finally realized that his life belonged to God. Because God had determined the value of his life.

John the Baptist, whom you know well, was also someone who possessed absolutely nothing in worldly terms. Jesus went around with twelve disciples, and one of them, Judas Iscariot, was in charge of the money, indicating they lived relatively comfortably. That is, while Jesus traveled, many people contributed offerings for His ministry. Of course, it wasn't abundant, but they weren't particularly uncomfortable when traveling with the disciples. In comparison, John the Baptist was a man who lived his entire life with just one set of clothes. It's easy to imagine how meager his food must have been. Such a man was imprisoned. Who was most afraid of this at that time? It was Herod, who had put John the Baptist in prison. Was it because he feared the people's criticism for imprisoning a prophet hailed by the populace? No. Herod was not that kind of person. Although the people's criticism did bother him, what Herod feared was that John the Baptist was a man who feared God. What determined the value of his life was neither Herod nor the people. God alone was the sole value of John the Baptist's life. Therefore, his life contained an immense value incomparable to anything else within it.

The Apostle Paul, whom you admire, was a remarkable person who carried out God's work well, but he was actually a very timid person. So, when he was going to the church in Corinth, he was extremely afraid and trembled so much he couldn't move his feet towards Corinth. At that time, God told him, 'Go in for My people who are in there,' and only then did he head towards the Corinthian church. One might expect the great Apostle Paul to say, 'If God is with me, why should I cling to this life while preaching the gospel?' and show courage, but in reality, he couldn't. Paul was so timid that after sending a letter rebuking the Corinthian church for their wrongdoings, he couldn't sleep properly, worrying that the contents of the letter might hurt the Corinthian believers. If such a person were imprisoned, what would he have been like? Instead of despairing and becoming discouraged, he placed all the events he experienced in prison and the value of his life in God. That is why he could rejoice. What could possibly be so enjoyable and joyful in a prisoner's life? But the reason he could rejoice was that he knew the value of his entire life was in God.

Place Our Value in God

Everyone, I appeal to you sincerely. You must properly realize where the value of your life lies, how precious a being you are, and why you are such a precious being. It is not because you have accomplished something great. It is not because of how much service and dedication you have offered in the church or how great mission work you have done. The value of our lives is God. Because God determines your value, because my life is in God, we can be precious beings. And that is who we are.

Martin Luther and Calvin, whom we know well, were not such great and resolute people either. Calvin later returned to minister at the church from which he had been ousted during his ministry. If it were me, my pride would have been hurt, and I would never have gone back. But Calvin, despite that, accepted the call and returned to that church. Was he able to do so simply because he had a good heart or outstanding faith? No. He did not place the value of his life in the fact that he was expelled from the church, nor in the church members who had ignored his words, but placed it solely in God.

I hope you too will place your value in God. If you do so, what can possibly shake you? Even in moments when all pride collapses, if everything you have is in God, nothing will be able to shake you.

Remember Joseph and Approach God

If there is anyone now who has lost confidence amidst fear and anxiety, not knowing the way to go; if there is anyone frustrated and hurt by life's difficulties, wandering without knowing where to go or what to do; and if there is anyone who has lost all sense of self-worth due to deep wounds, please remember Joseph now. Remember where Joseph placed the value of his life, how he interpreted all the events that happened to him.

Joseph asks us, 'Where is your life anchored? What is your dream? Is everything you have in God?' Jesus asks us the same thing. 'What is your worry and fear? Where are you? Are you not one who can do all things in Me?' Jesus tells us that everything about our lives, what we should do and live for within them, is found precisely in Christ and in God.

God's People Who Fight and Conquer Sin

People accomplish many great things through their own efforts. Some climb the high Mount Everest. In the Olympics, they repeatedly hit the exact same spot on the target. Humans achieve these things. It's remarkable.

But you are even more remarkable people than that. You are people who can fight against sin and win. Remember the fact that you are God's people, incomparable to anything else in this world.

True Blessing and the Believer's Life

The interpretation of my life belongs to God. Therefore, I am a blessed one, one who walks with God, one who holds Jesus in my heart, one filled with the Holy Spirit, a branch abiding in the vine and bearing fruit, a son or daughter of God, I am holy. Also, I am one who repents, one who dies to sin, one who fights against my sin and achieves victory, I am God's glory, God's glorious one.

Closing Prayer

Let us pray! Loving Lord, Joseph asks us too. 'Why are you worried? Why are you anxious? Your life is in God.' Oh, Lord, speak to me. Speak to each and every heart of Your beloved saints. Tell them why they should rejoice, why they can be at peace, why they can remain unshaken even in this harsh world. May the Holy Spirit speak to their hearts, to their deepest beings. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!