Sometimes there is an answer as to why God has us wait for something.
Two years after the cupbearer was released from jail, the Pharaoh has a couple of dreams that disturb him. And now, finally , the cupbearer mentions Joseph as a man who can interpret dreams to him.
Joseph is brought before Pharaoh and tells him that only God can tell him what the dreams mean. Then he tells Pharaoh the dreams are pointing to seven years of bumper crops, then seven years of famine. He will need to store up food in the first seven years to survive the second.
So why the wait?
Why two years of waiting? Psalm 105 tells us the reason.
"He called down famine on the land
and destroyed all their supplies of food;
and he sent a man before them—
Joseph, sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with shackles,
his neck was put in irons,
till what he foretold came to pass,
till the word of the Lord proved him true.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of peoples set him free.
He made him master of his household,
ruler over all he possessed,
to instruct his princes as he pleased
and teach his elders wisdom." Psalm 105:17-22 (NIV)
Let's look at this in Genesis 41:38-41 (NIV)
"So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?"
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.""
Joseph has now gone from favored son, to slave, to jail trustee, to second only to Pharaoh.
If Joseph had gotten out of prison two years earlier (his plan) he would not have been in position to fulfill his God-given dreams. If Joseph was freed two years earlier, how would Pharaoh have found him when Egypt needed him?
He would have been long gone and his dream would not have been realized.
God's timing may seem hard, and it can be, but it is always perfect. Joseph's life was not his own, he was called to a greater purpose. And only God knew when he was ready, and how to work all the parts together to bring about his plan, and the dreams he had put in Joseph's mind.
We may not always understand why we need to wait, but from God's perspective, there is always a reason.
