Action
And so this quick little study of Genesis 40 has revealed a lot. It's shown us how Joseph cared for people and reached out to them when he saw that they were dejected. We've seen how he glorified God first instead of drawing attention to himself. But I like then what he does. He gets to work. He helps them. He does what he can to help.
Moving Beyond Prayer
And as I thought about this, I thought about my own tendency to tell people that I'm praying for them and not actually do much for them. I think it's a real Christian problem. So many of us say, "I'll pray for you" in order to get out of actually doing something good for somebody. You know what I mean? And that's really sad. Joseph could have heard this story and said, "OK, I'll be praying for you guys," but he didn't. He used what he had, and in this case it was the ability to interpret their dreams, and he blessed them with it.
Just a week ago, I remember having a conversation with somebody and feeling a prompting from God to pray with them. And instead I said to them, "you'll be in my prayers" and I've regretted it ever since. I should have taken that moment to actually pray.
Taking Action
Maybe you've got tools in your hand to help someone. Maybe you've got resources, money or time or whatever it might be to reach out and do something. Joseph didn't just listen and then go away. He listened and then he acted. Let's be people who act when God prompts us and who reach out in real ways to people in their time of need.
