156. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. God has made him forget all his trouble.
13 May 2021
God has made me forget all my trouble. (Genesis 41: 51)
Joseph in Charge of Egypt
Genesis 41
38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.”
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
Joseph was seventeen (Genesis 37:2) when he was sold by his brothers to slave traders, and later he ended up in prison in Egypt (Genesis 39:20).
He was to be referred as Joseph the dreamer because he had dreams which were interpreted that his brothers, father and mother will bow down before him (Genesis 37:6-10). As a result, his brothers hated him and sold him to the slave traders.
Joseph was thirty when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt (Genesis 41:46). He was second in-command to Pharaoh. How did such turn of events happen?
Joseph while in prison in Egypt interpreted the dreams of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker of the king of Egypt (Genesis 40:10-19); Pharaoh was angry with the two that they ended up in prison.
After two years, Joseph was called upon from prison to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh (Genesis 41:14), on the suggestion of the king's chief cupbearer who was earlier restored to his position.
“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
“It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
but seven years of famine will follow them.
“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.
Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
We may ask, where did Joseph get such wisdom? Wasn't he in prison all those years?
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. Genesis 41:39
Joseph had fear for God.
“How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9
The Way of Wisdom
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10
Dreams. I had dreams. Then there was my nightmare.
It's every father's dream to see his children graduate college, and that dream is indeed for every parent.
Elementary and high school education for children are normally decided by proximity to home.
For college, sending to a good university could mean coming to Manila or other big cities where the top schools are.
My children had elementary and high school near home in Lipa. They had a vehicle service going to school and at times my wife would bring their lunch to school. Things were well.
When my eldest daughter was graduating from high school, the first possibility was for her to go to UP Los Banos being near Lipa and she had cousins studying there; she passed the UPCAT.
Now about my nightmare. At the back of my mind, I won't see my eldest graduate college. I was sick inside. It was going about 2 years that I had difficulty getting a stable job. What would follow were that I needed to sell the cars and that the house would be at the risk of being foreclosed by the bank.
The strength of my prime years was depleting. I did not know what to do and the situation would continue for days, weeks, months and years. Part of the nightmare was that the following year my second daughter will also start college, and I did not know where to enroll her. Then my son, the youngest, would be on promissory note on his final year in high school.
Then the nightmare started to fade off. My 2 daughters attended Ateneo on free tuition, such happening was beyond my dreams, so to speak.
Marlou, my wife, and I would share with the cell group our sense of helplessness waiting for our children finish college and hopefully they can help out in our situation.
I would remember Marlou telling me, Ate Becks will tell her, "lilipas din yan, hindi magtatagal matatapos rin sa pag-aaral ang mga anak nyo", giving us encouragement, I would say from their own family experience. Indeed, those words of Ate Becks would be self-fulfilling prophecy.
Yes, every parent will endure all difficulties to fulfill that dream to see their children in college graduation attire.
My dream came true and my nightmare totally went away.
I live to this day, not just seeing my children graduate college, the Lord even allowed me to see my children's children with my own very eyes.
The Lord God, the God of Joseph the dreamer, is my God; He has made me forget my trouble.
"Lord, Joseph remembered his dream and same time the fear of God - "As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked. "From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food." Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected." On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households" Genesis 42:7, 9, 18, 19). Lord, God of Joseph, You ".... bless those who fear the LORD — small and great alike" (Psalm 115:13); I bow down before You, and I praise You, in Jesus' name. Amen."
One day, my children's children will say, wala ka sa Lolo ko; God has made him forget all his trouble.
May you be blessed with God's Word. Amen.
Maraming salamat.
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