Whose faithfulness is in question?

Ever felt like God has forgotten you? Joseph must have. He was far from home, given up for dead by his family, framed for a crime he would rather have died than commit, and left to languish in prison. He must have wondered when God would ever rescue him.

You see, it’s one thing to believe God knows our circumstances, but it’s another thing entirely to believe steadfastly that He will act on our behalf. The first involves faith in who He is. The second requires hope in what He will do. The apostle Paul said that hope in God is a choice that will not disappoint (Romans 5:3-5). It is an absolutely reasonable choice no matter what our circumstances because it is based on who He is. Because God is righteous and holy, His actions will always be an expression of His character. There is an acronym used in the computer industry that is easy to spell and hard to say: WYSIWYG. It simply means “what you see is what you get.” Just so with God. He is not capricious or arbitrary; He is faithful and true.

The turning point in Joseph’s dungeon experience came when he ceased to wait anxiously on the system and began to wait expectantly on God. His belief that God would act on his behalf was based on Joseph’s experiential knowledge. He knew that God had spared him from death at the hands of his brothers; that He had placed him in a position of influence in Potiphar’s household; that He had given him dreams as a child...and he trusted that the same care would continue. It was just a matter of time. The faithfulness in question is not His—it is ours! Will we wait expectantly and trust Him?