Quiet here today.  Watching the birds as they go about the business of survival and will be feeding them shortly. 

Hard to believe that this month is half over – the ‘old folks’ were right, time really does go by faster as you get older.

Genesis 40:9; 12-14; 21; 23  

9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

40:12-14 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:

¹³ Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.

¹⁴ But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:

21  And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:

23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

Joseph was highly blessed of God and because of that, even though he was the servant of others – slave actually – he was well thought of and placed in charge of others.

He was so trusted that he didn’t even have to give an account for his decisions.

Yet, he was not free.

He helped the butler and placed his mind at ease and all he asked was to have the butler tell the Pharaoh about him.

The butler forgot him.

How many times do we find that we have helped someone and had them turn their back on us? 

We trusted them, only to find that they later just forgot about us, or decided that it was not in their best interest to support us?

What do we do with that betrayal of our trust?

If we don’t put it behind us and keep our eyes toward God it can become a thorn in our side, we become bitter and angry.  We make all kinds of vows as to never trusting anyone again, angrily calling out the back stabber.

We can become so focused on that unfaithfulness that we lose sight of the fact that God is in charge.  That no matter what happens to us He will use it for His Glory and our benefit – maybe not physically, but spiritually.

Joseph continued in his captivity doing the best job he could.  Genesis doesn’t record his actions or feelings when forgotten.  However, he remained in the favor of the chief jailor; he continued the mission set before him by God.

It is human to be angry, to feel abandoned when friends turn against us.  How we handle those feelings will go a long way to either push us farther down, or lift us up closer to God.

It isn’t easy to forgive, or get over our feelings – time alone may not be enough, but we can kneel before our God.  Spend time with Him and allow Him to search or heart so we do not become bitter.

In the end, we are the ones that suffer if we hold a grudge against someone for their behavior – many times they either didn’t know they hurt us, or don’t remember and go about their lives without even thinking about it.

While we dwell on the damage and let it not only occupy our minds, but control our lives.

Been there and in some cases not completely over it – but, I strive to put those thoughts behind, allowing God’s Spirit to guide me.  Things will come up that remind me, but – when I remember to – I turn my feelings over to God and strive to not dwell on them.

Nope, not easy, but imperative if we are going to move ahead in our lives and not rest on this stumbling block, letting it keep us from moving on.

Later, Art :-)