📅 November 13, 2025
🌾 Joseph – A Faith That Carries Through
Devotions from the Life of a Dreamer with Character
⏳16.Waiting that Shapes Character
When everything is silent – yet something happens
👣 Introduction
Waiting rarely feels like a gift.
It is like a long hallway without windows – a time when doors stay closed and footsteps fade unheard. You don’t know when things will move forward again. Sometimes you even wonder if anyone will ever come to open the next door.
But in God’s hands, waiting is never a pause.
It is a workshop.
A quiet school where God works on us while we believe nothing is happening.
Joseph had no idea that God had a divine timetable. He only saw that the dreams of his youth were far away. Instead of royal robes, he wore chains. Instead of influence, he experienced helplessness. And yet: God was at work – deeper than Joseph could imagine.
Waiting was not a punishment.
It was preparation.
God shaped a dreamer into a servant – and a servant into a leader.
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🎯 Devotion
“And the chief cupbearer… forgot him.”
This sentence is one of the most painful in the entire story of Joseph.
Joseph had helped. Joseph had given hope. Joseph had explained that God interprets dreams. And the cupbearer promised: “I will remember you.”
But as soon as he was free, the memory faded – and Joseph remained behind in the darkness of the prison.
To be forgotten after doing good – that hurts deeply.
For two years nothing happened. No news. No progress. No sign that God was changing the situation. And yet in those very two years something essential happened: God worked on Joseph’s heart.
Joseph did not rebel.
He did not plot an escape.
He did not let self-pity devour him.
Instead, he remained in the posture of a servant. Not out of weakness – but out of trust. He knew: if God does not open a door, no person can force it. And if God opens it, Joseph will not have to fight for it.
A faith that can wait is a faith that can grow.
In those years Joseph lived out three decisions that sustained him:
1. He held on to God’s promise.
The dreams were not dead. They were resting. And Joseph held fast to the truth that God does not forget what He has given.
2. He maintained integrity.
He did what was right even when no one watched. He treated people well even though they could give him nothing in return. He lived faithfully even in the hidden places.
3. He kept his heart soft.
He could have become bitter – but bitterness destroys calling. Joseph chose softness over hardness, openness over cynicism.
Those years in prison were not wasted years.
They were a school of character.
Without them Joseph would not have been able to be humble with power, generous with injustice, and merciful with responsibility. God shaped him in the hidden place for a task in the visible.
God’s timing is never random.
When Pharaoh finally needed someone who could dream and serve –
someone wise and patient –
Joseph was ready.
Not too early.
Not too late.
But at the right time.
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💡 Thoughts for your heart
Waiting is not empty – it is God’s tool.
God works in you before He works through you.
What you learn in the hidden place you will need in the public place.
A faith that waits has depth.
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💎 What we can learn from Joseph
God’s promises have no expiration date.
Even the forgetfulness of others does not stop God.
Character is shaped in silence – not in applause.
Patience is faith in slow motion.
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👣 Practical steps
See your waiting season as a shaping season – not stagnation.
Practice integrity even when no one sees you.
Turn disappointment into prayer, not bitterness.
Remain faithful in the small things – God sees it.
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💭 Questions to reflect on
Which door in my life is currently closed – and how do I respond to it?
Where might God be shaping my character while I wait?
Which attitude do I want to intentionally practice in this season?
What part of my heart needs healing so I can be ready for what’s coming?
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🙏 Prayer
Lord,
you know the seasons in which I wait and nothing happens.
You see my uncertainty, my impatience, my struggle.
I ask you: shape me in this time.
Teach me patience, strength, and trust.
Give me grace not to become bitter,
but to remain open to Your work.
Help me be faithful in the small things,
so that I am prepared for what You have planned.
I trust You even when I see nothing.
Your timing is good – and I choose to rest in it.
Amen.
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🔑 Key thought of the day
God prepares you in the waiting
for what you will later stand in.
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🌿 Blessing to close
May the Lord, who shaped Joseph while all doors remained closed,
shape your heart as well.
May He give you patience where you are restless.
May He give you hope where you see nothing.
May He give you strength where you grow weary.
And when the time has come,
may He open the door no one can shut.
Amen.
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