We don’t have a memory problem.  We have a love problem.

Maybe a once-close friend got promoted, and now you never hear from him.  Perhaps someone you invested in for years now doesn’t return your call.  Or maybe the person you helped when you were on top is nowhere to be found now that you need a little help of your own.

Being left behind is a lonely place to be.  Joseph was in prison…unjustly.  And one day, he had two new jail mates.  One was Pharaoh’s cupbearer and the other was his baker.  The two had angered their boss and found themselves in prison.

But Joseph got to know them and learned to serve them.  When they needed to understand their dreams, Joseph interpreted.  The cupbearer’s dream was good news.  The baker’s dream was not.  Pharaoh restored the cupbearer and executed the baker.

No Average Joe Series

When Joseph interpreted the cupbearers dream, he made this request, “Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house”—Genesis 40:14.

But after the cupbearer was restored, we read, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him”—Genesis 40:23.

Here are a few truths to remember when others forget us:

We serve others, but we trust God.

The people we serve may never possess the character needed to think of others first.  That should never discourage our service.  Jesus gave His life freely for many people who would never appreciate His sacrifice.

We serve so others so they can serve others.

The cupbearer escaped death and was restored to prominence.  Joseph literally worked himself out of a job.  None of us like being forgotten, but the role of servant is to help others be everything they were intended to be.  When we decrease so Jesus can increase, we may very well lose our life in a lonely dungeon while others are partying upstairs.

We serve quickly, but people respond slowly.

As soon as Joseph saw a need, he met it.  There was no delay at all.  But when the cupbearer got his groove back, he was slow to even think about Joseph.  If we serve for what we will get in return, we will be very disappointed.  Ministry rarely yields fast fruit.

We serve in the dark, but God is preparing our day.

For two years, Joseph heard nothing from the cupbearer.  For two years, Joseph cleaned toilets, changed bed linens, swept out dungeons, and oriented new prisoners.  For two years, Joseph woke up and went to bed with no obvious hope for rescue.  For two years, Joseph worked and waited in darkness.  What we do and who we become in the dark determines what God can do with us in the light of day.

So if others have left you behind, know that God has not forgot you.  Your dungeon days are never wasted days.

What has God taught you when you’ve been left behind? Please share by clicking the comment button below.