Steven Wright spoke for some of us when he said, “Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.” It is terrible to forget, but worse still to be forgotten.
Do you ever feel forgotten? When Joseph met the cupbearer and baker of Pharaoh, he interpreted their dreams, remembering that interpretation of dreams belongs to God (40:8). After all he had been through, Joseph never forgot God. But the cupbearer forgot Joseph. It would have been easy for Joseph to believe that God had forgotten him, too.
Two more years would pass before Pharaoh had his dream and asked for an interpretation. Then the cupbearer remembered Joseph. This memory started the chain of events that led to Joseph’s freedom and vindication. When God rescued Joseph and elevated him to a position of power, he named his children Manasseh and Ephraim, meaning “forgetful and fruitful.” God enabled him to forget his pain of separation from his dad. Finally, his forgetfulness of pain led to fruitfulness in the present.
Just so, the present chapter in our stories is not the final one. I know many people have forgotten their promises to us. Joseph’s story reminds us that God has not forgotten us. In his time, he will work out his plan. We wait in hope for the Lord. Not in vain, do we wait. Our God is an “on-time” God. In his time, he makes all things beautiful.
