The last words of this chapter are such a hard blow for Joseph: “he forgot him.”

After what must have been the horrific experience of being wrongly accused, presumably fearing for his life, and then being imprisoned indefinitely for something he didn’t even do, Joseph finally has a glimmer of hope that the cup bearer will put in a good word for him. And then he is forgotten.

I wonder how long it was before Joseph’s hope started to fade. Perhaps he began to believe that he truly never would be released from prison. Who would speak for him? Who would remember him?

Reading the story now, knowing how it ends, it is easy to be relaxed about Joseph’s predicament. But Joseph did not know how it would end. He could not have known whether he would die alone, in prison, or not. When we read, we have God’s perspective on Joseph’s life. We can see how it all fits in with God’s plans, and how God was training and preparing Joseph for the next great work he would be called to. But Joseph would have known none of that.

We are all in Joseph’s position when difficult times come in our own lives. We do not know the end of the story. We do not know if our trials and difficulties will ever end. Perhaps we can see nothing good in our own futures. Perhaps we have put our trust in others, and been let down, falling even lower than we were before.

It is at these times when we need, more than ever, to be able to put our trust in the One who does know the end from the beginning. It can feel very hard to do this when everything seems dark and hopeless. It is a step of faith to trust the Lord in the valleys but, when our faith is lacking, it is God himself who is the source of renewal of that faith.

It would be two full years before Joseph saw his deliverance from prison. It did not come in the blink of an eye. Maybe he cried out to God hundreds of times while he waited. But even if the cupbearer had forgotten Joseph, God never did.

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH