Joseph’s sleep came in fits, his brief dozes halted by a familiar and haunting sound. It was the fetters again. He could scarcely move a foot or shift a hand without the clanging reminder that his dreams had not come true.
     He had been certain his visions of greatness were sent by God. His brothers would bow to him. That would necessitate Joseph someday gaining a position of authority, wouldn’t it? He was 17 when the revelation came to him. Now, years later, he was slumped at the bottom of an Egyptian dungeon, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, wrongly accused by his former master’s wife, and forgotten by a friend he had warmly assured the sweet freedom Joseph still craved.
     Water dripped into a rank pool. The prisoner beside him snored. The rats scurried only a few feet away, his last morsel was nearly a week previous, and Joseph’s dreams no longer were as strong as the stench.
     "What had become of those early dreams, those dreams of coming greatness?" asks F. B. Meyer. "Were those imaginings the delusions of a fevered brain? Had God forsaken him? Had his father forgotten him? Did his brothers ever think of him? Would they ever try and find him? Was he to spend all his days in that dungeon, and all because he had dared to do right? Do you wonder at the young heart being weighed almost to breaking?"
     Yet Joseph never broke, never allowed his burdens to weigh him down. Instead, God was his anchor. Joseph was an Old Testament "type" of Christ, and no Bible character other than Christ is so favorably portrayed. In fact, Joseph’s responses to his many trials reveal the fundamentals of faith that will never become outdated.
     The story of Joseph is not about trial and temptation as much as that there is a reason for them–and that faith in God carries the day, the week, the year. God is sovereign. God is in control. God oversees and overrides the affairs of every man, and there is a reason behind every event, harsh or docile, cancerous or benign.
     Joseph began learning these truths early in life. He had been favored by his father, Jacob, who gave him a coat of many colors. This was emblematic of the child Jacob wanted to lead his family in the future, an honor usually reserved for the firstborn son, not the 11th. The blessing provoked anger among Joseph’s brethren, who were inflamed ever more by Joseph’s grandiose dreams that they would someday bow to him.
     First they threw him into a pit, then they sold him into slavery. The Bible says God was with him. Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguard, bought Joseph. The Bible says God blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. Potiphar’s wife framed Joseph, who was cast into prison though he had fled from the very sin for which he had been accused and condemned. The Bible says God favored Joseph even still. Joseph helped the incarcerated cupbearer, who in his freedom forgot his promise to remember Joseph for two long years.
     So perhaps this is when Joseph slept in fits. These were the longest, most grueling, most painful two years. Could Joseph slip any lower? Was there any hope? Was God still inclining an ear? Was He still in control?
     Yes, praise God. Joseph’s God is our God, the Most High God, whose providence still turns even evil into good. (Romans 8:28) We can learn from Joseph, so mighty in spirit with his faith, patience, perseverance, and forgiveness. Suffering refines the saint in the same way muscle develops only under strain. (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:7; 4:12-13) In his chains, Joseph could do nothing more than rest in his faith in God.
     Soon enough, Joseph would learn that God ordained each step in his life, each step that led to the prime minister’s chair in Egypt. God’s grace positioned Joseph, whose graces saved a nation and his own family. Indeed, his dreams came true. His brothers bowed to the man they had betrayed into greatness. Hard-won and long-delayed, it was greatness more glorious still.
     This is not a story of the success of Joseph; rather, it is a story of God’s faithfulness to his promises," writes John H. Sailhamer. "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob repeatedly fell short of God’s expectations, though, of course, they continued to have faith in God. Joseph, however, is a striking example of one who always responds in total trust and obedience to the will of God. . . . When God’s people respond as Joseph responded, then their way and God’s blessing will prosper."