Believing in Personal Revelation

One of life's greatest challenges is to accept and follow personal revelation. For it is so much easier to hear "Pay your tithing," or "Read your scriptures," and then obey. The counsel came from authorities we trust and believe in. But what happens when the source is from within? How do we manage to endure without authoritative reassurance?

Joseph had a set of dreams. By the time he was seventeen years old he had shared them with his family and felt they meant something more than just random thoughts from his daily life. He had felt the Holy Ghost whispering to his mind that these were visions of the future - that he would be a leader and mightier than all in his home. Sadly, his brethren didn't catch the spirit of the dreams and became angry. They sold him into Egypt and told his father he had perished.

Going through trials of my own in regards to revelation I can almost see this young man as he is sold in Egypt as a slave. His confidence is at the breaking point. What had happened? Where was God now? Had he failed in some way and was being punished? These and many more raced through his mind for a season - whether short-lived or not.

At some point Joseph makes a decision; to trust in God. He moves forward and does his best to work hard and stay true to his faith. Over time he gains the trust of his master, Potiphar, who eventually turns care of his entire estate over to Joseph. Surely this must be part of the fulfillment of his dreams; at least he is on his way towards it. Right?
Yet it is not time for that to happen. Potiphar's wife abandons her commitment to her husband and lusts after the hired help. She constantly approaches him until one day she finds a way to fabricate a lie and have him thrown in jail.

Again I can see the pain and anguish. Here he is again, in his early twenties, and has lost what he thought was the path to his promised blessings. He must be wondering Am I sure that was the Lord? Did he really reveal those things to me or am I simply misleading myself?

Whatever went through his head at this point, he overcame doubts and fears to move on with his life. He set himself to work again and gained the confidence of the head guard. All of the prisoners were in his care and the guard never worried because he knew of Joseph's character.
Finally he is put over the care of two important prisoners - at least important to the story. After "a season" of caring for them they both have visions in the night. They approach Joseph with them and he interprets, watching as three days later they are both fulfilled. His final words to the butler must have been echoing in Joseph's ears, "Don't forget me. Tell Pharaoh about me."
He isn't remembered and certainly isn't able to move up and out due to the status of who put him in there. Since Potiphar was a high ranking official in connection to Pharaoh it would take Pharaoh himself in order to have Joseph released. And with the butler's lack of gratitude this takes another two years.

Then the miracle occurred. Pharaoh had his dream. The butler mentions Joseph. Our hero is not only released from the king's prison, but made second only to Pharaoh in all Egypt! He certainly is experiencing the dreams now. He gets married, has children and watches as another revelation, the famine prophecy, comes to fruition. Then it all comes together. Finally after twenty-two years of separation the family of Jacob is reunited and the dreams are fulfilled in their entirety.

It struck me when reflecting that if God saw fit to test Joseph's faith for thirteen straight years and then hold him back for another nine before his faith was completely rewarded, then why should I whine or doubt when God asks me to hold on a little longer. Yes it is hard to believe in something that isn't spoken by the authorized servants of God, but that doesn't matter. When God tells us something is true we must believe. Unless he gives us a timeline we must hold out indefinitely. And if he gives us a timeline we hold out to the last moment of that schedule. Remember that Joseph's great-grandmother gave birth at a hundred years old which was absurd even then. So why should we doubt that the Lord will find a way in his own due time?
If God says it is true, we must stand fast in that knowledge and press on like Joseph. We will all doubt and fear at times. There will be moments like Joseph being thrown in jail and even being forsaken by loved ones during our trials of faith. Yet if we hold on the promises of God are brought to pass and the light we clung to will increase into brilliance and illuminate us forever more.

Quite the Endeavor

This one task, to study Joseph, was perhaps the most challenging to understand of any that the patriarch, Brother Pace charged me with back in July of 2002. He blessed me with so many comprehensible and wonderful things that this one seemed almost out of place. How was I to study the life of a man from over 4000 years ago in any sort of detail, especially if his life is for the most part only recorded in the book of Genesis, which in large part uses the language of symbolism both in stories and numbers?

Well, I am beginning to grasp the message and doing more to follow that all important counsel. If God feels I would not only benefit, but become a better person from this endeavor, then I shall do it and do it gratefully. I have turned this into a blog so that I am accountable for pursuing the subject and can get feedback and new ideas from other seekers of truth.

The things I have learned from him already amaze me and I hope to learn more. Joseph in Egypt was one of the greatest men who ever lived and we could all do well to emulate his example.