Photo by Noah Silliman
They said to him, “ We had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “ Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
Genesis 40: 8
I’m one of those people, when I put my focus on something, I throw myself wholly into it. I see nothing else. I can only do one thing at a time and I do it wholeheartedly. That’s the way I’m wired. But God is quite the multi-tasker I have learned.
I had been waiting for a job contract, had done the interview, It was just a matter of starting the job. I had been waiting for quite a while. I was beginning to get frustrated. My sister calls and tells my mom she needs a nanny for my 2-year-old niece. Mom tells her to ask me if I could go help until she could find a nanny. I was so irritated why would she put me in this position? Couldn’t she see that I was busy trying to work out my life? My sister calls me and asks if I could stay with her for a while and look after my niece.
I told her I would get back to her. She was desperate. I cared not. I was desperate in my own situation. In my stubborn refusal to go help her, the Holy Spirit whispered, “ He who refreshes others will, in turn, be refreshed.” The ESV says, whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters others will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25 I wanted refreshment without first, refreshing others. I was concerned with my own situation I couldn’t see my sister’s need. God got my attention. I called her and said I will help her(halfheartedly I might add, but I went anyway).
On the same day, I went to my sister’s house, I got a phone call to start the job in November. It was May, there were five long months in between. God was faithful to give me the answer I desperately needed so I could rest. For the next five months, I became a nanny to my little niece. The season I was so reluctant to enter became my school of character. I learnt more about God being around my 2-year-old niece than in any other season.
I became my little niece’s nanny for a very long time, often on and off. I would go to work, then I would have some time between contracts and I would be a nanny. For the next four years, this was my life.
She was such a delight to be around. She was the gift God gave to me in my waiting. I learnt patience, I saw God as a father by the way He taught me to deal with her. I learnt kindness. Unconditional love, by the way, my niece loved people no matter their quirks. I grew up a lot in this season. God used a 2-year- old to school me(divine humor).
I also learnt an important lesson, that on my way to the dreams God had given me. I had to see the people that were in front of me. I had to serve the ones in need, even at the expense of my own needs being unmet. I couldn’t live for myself. God was dealing with my self-centredness.
I love Joseph’s story in Genesis 39. Even though he is in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Even though nothing in his life had gone according to plan. Joseph doesn’t sit in a corner and sulk all day. He doesn’t get mad at God. He uses that opportunity to serve those in front of him. while he waited for God to show up for him. He showed up for others. He brought God into someone else’s dark season.
It’s easy to move from season to season, only praying for our breakthroughs. Looking for our blessings. We can go through life consumed with our own struggles or situations and fail to see the one God has put in front of us. The one we need to serve. The one who needs our help. The one who needs we sit with for a while. The who needs us to weep with. The one who needs our courage to stand by them while they find theirs. The one who needs the Jesus we carry.
Sometimes, the answers we need are in the people God has put in front of us. For Joseph interpreting the baker’s dream was his door to freedom. Our answers may come through unexpected places and people.
Sis, are you seeing the one in front of you? Or are you too busy with your own problems? Remember if you give God your problems, you can then go help others with theirs. You can be able to see who is in front of you and can offer your help.
prayer
Father, help me to see people who need my help. help me see the opportunities youve put infront of me to serve others. to bring Jesus to others. Its easy to be consumed with my own problems. Help me to know when I refresh others , I will also be refreshed. And remember that you sometimes come in unexpected ways, through unexpected people.In Jesus name Amen.
How are you seeing the one infront of you?
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