Dreams in Prison

Joseph sits in an Egyptian prison, far from his home and family. He did not choose to be here. His brothers sold him, and a lie put him behind these stone walls. But something important is true even in this dark place: God has not forgotten Joseph, and God's promises do not disappear in the dark.

One morning, Joseph notices that two of his fellow prisoners look troubled. These are no ordinary men — one was the Pharaoh's cupbearer, who served the king his wine, and the other was Pharaoh's baker, who made his bread. Both of them have had strange dreams in the night, and their faces are clouded with worry.

'Why do you look so sad today?' Joseph asks.

'We have each had a dream,' they tell him, 'and there is no one to explain what it means.'

Joseph answers with something remarkable. He does not say, 'I am clever enough to figure it out.' He says, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.'

This is faith — trusting that God is the one who knows, the one who acts, the one who speaks. Joseph is not relying on himself. He is relying on the God of his father Jacob, the God of Abraham, the God who made a covenant promise that this family would be a blessing to the whole world.

The cupbearer tells his dream first. He saw a vine with three branches that budded, blossomed, and grew ripe grapes. He pressed them into Pharaoh's cup. Joseph listens carefully and then explains: in three days, Pharaoh will restore the cupbearer to his place. He will serve the king again.

Then the baker tells his dream. He saw three baskets of bread on his head, and birds were eating from the top basket. Joseph's answer is harder this time. In three days, he tells the baker gently, Pharaoh will have him executed.

Before the cupbearer goes, Joseph makes one request. 'Remember me when things go well for you,' he says. 'Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this place. I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing wrong here to deserve this pit.'

Three days later, everything happens exactly as Joseph said. The cupbearer is restored. The baker is executed. God's word through Joseph is perfectly true.

But then comes a painful line: the cupbearer does not remember Joseph. He forgets him.

And yet, God has not forgotten him. The covenant God made with Abraham is still alive, still working, still moving forward — even through a prison cell, even through a forgotten promise, even in the waiting. God is doing something, even when no one else can see it.