When We Feel Forgotten

When We Feel Forgotten

The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Genesis 40:23

After being forgotten by the cupbearer, Joseph struggled with the temptation of becoming impatient and complaining. When the devil saw this, he attacked Joseph with even more fiery arrows. Christ himself felt these arrows when the devil tempted him: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). In the same way, the devil might have said to Joseph, “Go ahead and continue your miserable struggle. You know that your prayers are useless. You cry to God and believe in him—but all for nothing. You had hoped that God would free you and restore your honor because you interpreted the chief cupbearer’s dream. Well, let God save you if he feels like it!” The devil continued to torment Joseph with his fiery arrows, even though Joseph was already weak and wounded.

When faithful people are happy and when they sing, “The LORD is my strength and my song” (Psalm 118:14), the devil stays far away from them. All complaining and impatience soon end. As long as believers praise and thank God, then temptation, sadness, and unbelief disappear. Heaven is opened wide and hell is shut with words like these: “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1).

But as soon as we stop praising God, miserable, lonely, sad thoughts return. That’s what happened to Joseph when he remembered how his brothers had sold him. They were at home having a good time while he was lying in prison, tied up and miserable. This is how the devil works. When the water becomes troubled, he likes to fish. He uses these opportunities to tempt people to abandon their faith and give up in despair.