Genesis 40 — Thoughts

Who Is God Talking To?

It's amazing to realize that God exists, but it's life-changing to realize that the God who exists is also personal.

In this story, we see God being personal when He speaks directly to each of the three main characters: to Joseph and to the cupbearer and the baker.

Perhaps we aren't surprised that God would speak to Joseph. He's our main character after all, and we've already seen God speak to him in dreams (chapter 37). But here, God speaks to Joseph through other people's dreams as well. God is leading Joseph somewhere, and He's communicating with Jospeh directly as He does.

Do you believe that God is leading you somewhere? Do you believe that God wants to communicate with you? We have an advantage over Joseph because Joseph didn't have the written Word of God — but we do. If you spend time in your Bible, prayerfully asking God to speak to you through its words, you will also hear from God like Joseph did.

So God speaks to Joseph, but what's more surprising to me is that God also speaks to the cupbearer and the baker.⁠ We know that Joseph had a relationship with God, but these two were Egyptians who didn't know God. And yet, God is speaking to them as well. To one, He gives encouragement; to the other, a warning. We aren't given Joseph's full conversation with these men over the days they were together, but I wouldn't be surprised if both put their faith in God to save them.

Let this be a reminder that God also speaks to your friends who don't know Him. God is constantly pursuing the unbeliever (John 6:44). It's why Jesus came in the first place (Luke 19:10). So don't be surprised when you see God working in the lives of your non-Christian friends. And don't write off anyone as "beyond God's reach." God is constantly at work in the lives of those around us, so we should be praying for our non-Christian friends and making ourselves available for God to use us in their lives.

God is intensely personal, and He is at work in the lives of believers and non-believers alike. There is always hope.

(Originally written August 29, 2020)