Famines Bring Promises

By: Raya Newborn
Edited by: Summer Neal

Do you have a favorite season that you wish you could experience all year round?

Some might call me crazy, but summer is my favorite season. I love spending time at the beach with friends and family. I love the way the rain smells in summertime. I even love the Georgia 90+ degree temperatures.

If I had to pick a least favorite season, it would be winter.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, but that’s it.

I despise the bitter cold, especially on those gloomy, rainy days that feel so depressing. Snow is fun but only for a day or two, assuming it doesn’t immediately turn to slush.

If given the option, I would choose to have summer all year round. I would choose all the sunshine, warmth, and happiness.

When it comes to seasons of life, my opinion isn’t much different. Without hesitation, I would choose to always have days full of sunshine and rainbows. I would avoid every gloomy and depressing season.

If only that were possible, right?!

I think we can agree that we’ve all been in good seasons of life.

Maybe you got a new job promotion with a salary increase. Maybe you got married to the love of your life. Maybe you had that baby that every doctor said was impossible.

One of my favorite seasons of life is when I married my husband. During the wedding planning process, I don’t remember getting stressed out once.

To give you a little insight about me, I am not a “go with the flow” person by nature. As a matter of fact, I’m probably the complete opposite. I’m a perfectionist and an over-thinker.

I love to dream and have adventures, but I need a game plan.

When it came to our wedding, of course I planned and tried to make it as perfect as possible. However, at the end of the day, I was getting married. Whether things went right or wrong, I was marrying the love of my life, and that was all that mattered.

All of the details of our special day were just added bonuses to marrying Tyler.

A good, fun season like this is something I’d love nothing more than to live in forever, but that’s not life.

Life is full of highs and lows.

Joseph in the Bible knew this better than most. If given the option, I’m sure Joseph would have chosen the season of being Governor in Egypt as one of his favorite seasons of life. This was a big season for Joseph. This was the season he had waited for. It was the fulfillment of his first dream given by God.

This season was likely a season he wished could have lasted all year round. However, there were a lot of seasons prior that I’m sure he wished he could have been avoided all together.

Have you been there? I have.

I’ve been in seasons of life that were, if I’m honest, rough. I’ve experienced seasons of grief and loss that were all-consuming, and I didn’t know how to push through.

I’ve experienced seasons of loneliness where I felt like God wasn’t there, nor did I deserve His presence. I’ve experienced seasons where the only way I was holding on was by a single thread.

Do you know what I’m talking about?

Maybe you’re in one of those seasons right now. Maybe you're right in the thick of loss, pain, or hurt, and it’s been a long time since you’ve seen sunshine and rainbows.

I see you, and you’re not alone.

Long before the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream, he too found himself experiencing loss, pain, and hurt.

In Genesis 37, Joseph’s rough season begins to unfold.

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.- Genesis 37:19-20

Joseph’s brothers hated him so much that they were willing to kill him.

This hatred began when Joseph was born, because he was his father’s favorite. This hatred exploded when God gave Joseph his first dream, and he shared it with his family.

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them,

“Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” - Genesis 37:5-7

There was no way Joseph’s brothers would ever bow to him (or so they thought). Their only solution was to kill Joseph, but instead of killing him, they decided to sell Joseph into slavery.

After covering his clothing in blood, they took it to their father as evidence that Joseph had been killed.

After being sold into slavery, Joseph is purchased by Potipher (Genesis 39). Joseph quickly gains the respect of his master, and is placed as head of the household.

It appears that maybe this season of life is taking a turn for the better, until Potipher’s wife begins to notice Joseph’s good looks and does everything she can to seduce him.

After he refuses her, she tells Potipher that Joseph raped her. As if things couldn’t possibly get worse, Joseph is thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Joseph, a man who hasn’t done anything wrong, experiences undeniable loss, betrayal, and pain by both his family and his leadership.

In prison, I’m sure there were moments where Joseph thought to himself, “Lord, do you even see me? Why is this happening to me? All of this was not part of my dream!”

Sometimes when God gives us a dream, we only receive a small snippet of the big picture.

Even though Joseph may have felt like he was at the end of his rope, he was actually right on the precipice of his promise.

In Genesis 40, Joseph meets the Baker and the Butler, and is given the opportunity to interpret their dreams. When the Butler is released, he remembers Joseph and shares Joseph’s abilities with the Pharaoh, which gives Joseph an opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.

Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph’s interpretation and appointed him as second in command, making Joseph Governor of Egypt.

Although Joseph has been allowed some reprieve, the hard season wasn’t over just yet. Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream was the anticipation of famine.

Little did Joseph know that this famine would be what reunited him and his family.

The famine brought the promise.

Joseph, now Governor of Egypt, found himself being bowed to by his family just like God had shown him in his dreams years prior.

I often wondered why Joseph even shared his dreams with his brothers to begin with. Why didn’t he keep it to himself?

Then I remembered just how excited I get whenever I have a dream, especially one that I know came from God. It makes me want to scream it to the world as soon as I receive it, because I’m so excited about it!

As I’ve grown in my walk with Christ, I’ve had to realize that not every dream is meant to be shared with everyone. Even those that may be a part of your dream, may not be ready to hear your dream. That’s okay. It just may not be the right season for them.

Despite the fact that Joseph sharing his dream with his brothers led him to the worst season of his life, he was never out of God’s hands.

God always knew exactly where Joseph was, and He was leading Joseph to the promise all along.

Getting to the promise can seem like an eternity, especially when you’re in a rough season of life. Every season of life isn’t easy, but Romans 8:28 reminds us that God works ALL things together for our good.

That means that even when things don’t feel good or look good, God is working for your good.

God has a plan and a purpose for your life.

Don’t let the famine keep you from the promise.