Why do you look so sad? Joseph asked this the two officials who were with him in the prison. They had had dreams and Joseph interpreted them, one was for relief, the other for great distress. They came true. So only one man of the two had a reason to be sad. But the dreams had been troubling them, as much as later they troubled Pharao. The one who should have been sad was Joseph. He was in prison for 20 years. No trial, completely innocent. No lawyer, no one to help. He could have given up on life. Sold by his brothers into slavery, put into a dungeon by an unjust master. Can life be any blacker? And yet it is this Joseph who offers advice. He worries for others. And - even though much later, having done so brings back his freedom.
- Have you ever been blue? Felt treated unjustly? Been treated unjustly? Have you ever wondered: "Why me, Lord? Why is all this happening to me?" I often have. Until I found some answer in scripture. For the sins we committed, be they as insignificant as may be, we deserve much worse. And hell will be much worse than anything you - or I - would even want to imagine. If God allows our suffering here, as bad as it may be, and as sad as it may get, he is never giving us what we truly deserve. Instead, he has opened a door of grace and a door of honor. The honor to suffer for his name's sake. Please, don't let anyone take this away from you. Instead, turn and help somebody else. It truly helps to do so. It eases pain to ease somebody's pain. To agree with God will bring peace to the soul.
Ecclesiastes 7:3 Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
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