ISAIAH 55:9 - "Steadfastness"

"And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Genesis 50:19 & 20) This Joseph said to his brothers after their father had died; because after Jacob's death, they feared that Joseph would repay them for what they did to him years before. Joseph's life is a 'Type' of Jesus Christ; but it also is a very good example to us as to what it means to be steadfast in our walk before the Lord. Here we have a picture of a man, who early in his life, as a boy, had dreams. Not only did he have dreams, but he also knew what they meant; his dreams showed him being served and worshipped by his brothers, and even his father. In fact, after sharing one of these dreams, his father replied: "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come and bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?" (Gen 37:10) Growing up for Joseph was not easy. He was always treated badly by his brothers, because of his dreams; they would make fun of his dreams, and call him "Dreamer". Put yourself in his shoes; because for most of us, if not all, he had many opportunities to be discouraged and to give up. But he stayed steadfast and continued to believe that God had a plan and a purpose for his life. His first big chance for discouragement came when he was sold into slavery by his brothers, and then to make matters worse, they made it look like he had been killed by wild animals. Now, for most, this alone would have been enough to cause great discouragement. You know that you have been called to be a leader among your people, and now you are swept off into a foreign land as a slave; and to make matters worse, the only ones that could even try and save you, think that you are dead. Did Joseph get discouraged? If he did, it was not enough to cause him to give up on serving the Lord. Joseph was a man that was full of integrity and believed God was going to use him; he may not have known how it would happen, but he believed God would bring it to pass. Because he believed this, his life was devoted to serving God. How did he serve God? By being a man that walked out Godliness; being honest and serving those he worked for, as unto the Lord. Which was really not something he learned from his father Jacob, who had been a 'Deceiver' all of his life. No, you see, Joseph had assumed the role of his father's new name: 'Israel', which means 'Governed By God'; and he was steadfast in living it out. Next we see him serving in the house of Potiphar, who was an officer of Pharaoh. Joseph served him with such integrity and honesty, that Potiphar placed him in charge of all he had, with the exception of one thing: his wife; she was the one they based a TV show after, called "Desperate Housewives", (which I have never seen, I can only imagine). He ends up being accused by her of trying to force himself upon her; but I believe that he did not try to defend himself, and kept silent of the matter. As for Potiphar, Genesis 39:19 says: "And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled." I believe his wrath was not kindled against Joseph, but it was against his wife, and the situation that he had been placed in; because he was either going to have to show that he believed his wife, or Joseph; and Joseph was not saying anything. Besides, after this encounter, Joseph pretty much knew his days of serving there were done; he knew that this was something he should have brought to his masters attention long ago, but now he was paying a price for his silence, and would remain silent. So, Potiphar puts Joseph in the prison that Pharaoh uses to put his prisoners; which must have once again been a huge blow to his aspirations of being a leader among his people, and his service to God. But not Joseph, he stayed steadfast and served the Keeper of the prison, just as well as he served Potiphar; which would make me believe that Potiphar put a good word in for him to the Keeper of the prison. In Genesis 39:22 & 23, it says: "And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not at any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it prosper." Joseph just keep steadfast, serving the Lord, and believing that one day God was going to use him in a mighty way. Then there came the day when he gets to use his gift, the gift of interpreting dreams. Pharaoh's butler and baker show up in prison, and they both have dreams; Joseph interprets the dreams, they come to pass and then later, Pharaoh has some dreams. Joseph is beginning to see that there is a reason he is where he is, and why God has placed him where he has placed him. After he interprets Pharaoh's dreams, he instructs Pharaoh to appoint someone over all the land that is discreet and wise, and how he must store up food for the coming famine; someone that is lead by God and has integrity; I wonder who that might have been that he was talking about. In chapter 41 verses 38 & 39 it says: "And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:" Pharaoh puts Joseph in command of all of Egypt, and in fact, he was subject to only one in all the land, and that was Pharaoh, but even Pharaoh would heed his words. Joseph had been steadfast in serving and being 'Governed By God'; and now at the age of 30, he is second in command of all of Egypt. The only time in his life that he had used any form of deceit, was when his brothers showed up for food, he made himself a stranger to them. In Genesis 42:9 it says: "And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." Now it all made sense! He had remained faithful and steadfast, and he has finally seen the dreams of his youth become reality. God had used his life for more than he could have ever dreamed of... "And his brethern also went and fell down before his face, and they said, Behold, we be thy servants." (Genesis 50:18)