DIVINE  INTERRUPTIONS

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed;
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and bowed down to my sheaf.
8 And his brothers said to him, Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed still another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brothers: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to you to the earth?

1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, and Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was..in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all.that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, After this manner did your servant to me, that his anger was kindled.
20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in prison.

Sometimes God gives us a vision of a certain project or work that He is laying on our hearts. He convinces us that it is His will, and He may even give us a great passion to see it fulfilled. He then works out circumstances so that that vision seems to be just on the point of coming true. And then-- and interruption strikes, and we have to wait-- maybe even a long time-- for its fulfillment. That is always a hard experience to accept, and a trial of our faith. Yet it is not a reason to lose heart, nor even to suppose we were mistaken in thinking that project to be God's will. God has a good purpose in the interruption.
That is just what happened to Joseph concerning his dreams. The dreams made it plain that he was destined to some position of authority in which his family would be required to submit to him. He could hardly but be eager to see the dreams fulfilled. We cannot reproach him for any form of selfishness in desiring their fulfillment, for God had given him the dreams. Nor is there any evidence of any kind of self-interest in any of Joseph's conduce. It was perfectly legitimate for him to be eager for his dreams to come true.
When Joseph was working for Potiphar, it must have seemed to him that his dreams were on the point of fulfillment. Potiphar, the king's officer, trusted him so thoroughly that he left all the business of his household in his hands, and even put him in a position of authority. How much closer did he need to get to the fulfillment of his dreams? It could well have seemed to him that the only thing missing was for his family to enter the scene.
Then the interruption struck. Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of gross sin, and he was imprisoned for thirteen years. What had become of his dreams? He would have to wait until the interruption was over before they would become reality. God taught him how to handle the interruption, as He wants to teach us too.
The story begins with A  FORETASTE  OF  THE  VISION  BEFORE  THE  INTERRUPTION. Joseph's time of service for Potiphar was such a foretaste. Though we do not find an indication that anybody actually bowed down to him then, he was in a position of authority. He learned what it was to exercise leadership. That gave him an idea of how it would be when people would bow down to him. Whenever God interrupts the realization of a vision He has given, He first gives this foretaste-- otherwise the wait wouldn't be an interruption.
What purpose does this foretaste serve? It may seem simply to make the interruption more painful, for it is harder to have to wait for the vision to be fulfilled after we have tasted it as a reality than if we hadn't. Yet God has a good reason for having us taste the project He has laid on our hearts, before the interruption.
This foretaste of the vision assures us that it really is workable. Otherwise we might wonder during the waiting time whether we had simply been dreaming of something impossible, whether we had been unrealistic. Joseph had not been in any position of authority before he was sold into Egypt; and had he not been in charge of Potiphar's house before his imprisonment, he could have wondered whether after all he could really expect to be placed in such a position. The foretaste proved to him that it was possible, so that he wouldn't lose sight of the vision during his imprisonment. Likewise if God lays a project on our hearts, and interrupts it after our having tasted of it, the foretaste will help keep us mindful that we really can expect it to be fulfilled someday.
It is evident that Joseph did not lose sight of his vision. While he was in prison, the king's butler and baker were imprisoned with him. Each of them had a dream one night, and Joseph gave them the respective interpretations. Having told the butler that he would be restored to the king's service in the palace, he asked him to plead on his behalf to get him out of prison (Genesis 40:14, 15). He was still hoping to be set free, and to be given a position of authority. He had not given up. If, then, God lets us taste a project He has laid on our hearts, and then interrupts it, let us not complain about the painfulness of having gotten built up on it during the foretaste and then having to wait. Also, let us not suppose that God has stopped the project because we have offended Him in some way. Let us rather appreciate God's desire to assure us that the vision could be fulfilled, that it was not a fanciful and impossible dream. The wait does not mean that our work was not pleasing to God, or that we have a hidden sin that is preventing blessing. It is simply that God's time for the fulfillment of the vision has not yet come.
Nor is such an interruption ever a waste of time. God always has a good purpose in it, and He will even use us in other ways in the meantime. Joseph's example teaches us that we have OPPORTUNITIES  TO SERVE  DURING  THE  INTERRUPTION. But in order to take these opportunities, it is essential to refuse any sin that is suggested as a way to avoid, or to shorten, the interruption. Satan could well have suggested to Joseph that by giving in and sinning with Potiphar's wife, he could keep in good favour with the household and realize his vision without delay. Yet Joseph knew that God had given him the vision, and that it couldn't be in God's plan to have him use sin to speed it up. that would have been a false solution. We also may be tempted to think that the project God has laid on our hearts could be speeded up, and a delay avoided, if we did something that we knew to be displeasing to Him. Let us always remember that such a suggestion comes from "the father of lies." No matter how beneficial a sin may appear to be to our undertaking, no sin ever helps to fulfill the will of God. Let us resist it at any cost.
To make good use of the wait during the interruption, one must conscientiously take every opportunity one finds to do good. Maintaining a good testimony in every circumstance always makes time profitable. Joseph conscientiously performed every task he was given in prison, to the point where the guard trusted him and put him in charge of what went on there (39:22, 23). In fact, that also could have helped him not to lose the vision of his eventual leadership.
When we have to wait for what our hearts are really set on, it is easy to slip into the attitude that what we do in the meantime is of little importance, and therefore to do it carelessly. That is wrong. The waiting time is an opportunity to prove that "he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much" (Luke 16:10). Just how soon God allows us to resume our project may depend partly on how well we take advantage of seemingly small opportunities in the meantime.
To take full advantage of opportunities during a waiting time, one has to be alert to the needs of others, and particularly to notice when someone else is suffering, and do what one can for him. It is very touching to notice Joseph's concern for the welfare of other prisoners. He himself was suffering much more than we may realize just from reading the account in Genesis. We learn from Psalm 105:17-19 that he was bound with chains that hurt his feet. Just imagine how miserable it would be to endure that treatment day-in, day-out, for thirteen years!
Yet in spite of his own suffering, Joseph cared enough about the other prisoners to notice when they looked sad. When the butler and the baker were troubled about the dreams they had had the night before, Joseph noticed that they looked sad, and asked them what was wrong (Genesis 40:6, 7). His question was certainly not empty words to be polite, for those two prisoners were glad to confide their problem in him. They would hardly have done so if he hadn't already proven himself sympathetic and caring. They knew that, knowing their problem, he would do his utmost to help them. He did so by interpreting their dreams, which God enabled him to do. How well do you and I notice and care about the sufferings of others when we are suffering ourselves, and how much effort do we make to help them? That is a major way to take advantage of our opportunities during an interruption.
If we have conscientiously made use of our opportunities to serve during an interruption of a project for God, we will discover in the end the  GAINS  FROM  THE  INTERRUPTION. It will not turn out to have been a waste of time; God will show His good purpose in it.
One gain will be personal development. Though Joseph had led a good life before his imprisonment, he was certainly strengthened in his conduct by resisting temptation at such a cost. Also, being in prison could serve to break any pride he could have had. Though we see no definite signs of pride in what is written about him, it is a particular sin of obedient boys who are rejected by their peers. If Joseph had any such problem, this would help to deliver him from it.
He would also learn patience. We can calculate from Genesis 37:2 and 41:46 that he was in prison for thirteen years. Yet it is evident that, in spite of his long wait, he did not become bitter against God; for he gave God the glory in all his interpretations of dreams (Genesis 40:8; 41:16).
Joseph's vision was also deepened by the interruption. At first, he had been thinking of being in a position of authority, and having his brothers and parents bow down to him. This was not wrong, since God had given him the vision. Yet at the end of his life he saw a nobler purpose for his being in such a position-- "to save many people alive" (Genesis 50:20). He was glad to have been prime minister of Egypt, not so that his family would bow down to him, but so that he could save their lives and those of many others from death by starvation during the famine. While his original vision had been legitimate, the final version of it reflected a maturity of outlook.
Besides Joseph's personal development, God was preparing circumstances for the realization of his vision. The dreams of the butler and baker, and then of Pharaoh, served to get him out of prison and into the palace. His being able to interpret them showed that God was with him. Then the famine served to bring his family to Egypt. If we have to wait for the completion of a project, the reason is probably not all to do with us. More likely, God is preparing circumstances around us to fit with its fulfillment.
What is more, God was preparing the hearts of others for the work He wanted to do through Joseph. During the many years that passed, God worked a great change in the hearts of Joseph's brothers. Joseph tested them and proved that they had changed. That was his purpose in pretending he thought they were spies, and in treating them severely for a time. He wasn't trying to "get even" with them. He was checking whether they would treat Benjamin, the other son of Rachel, as they had treated him.
He found that they showed no jealousy when they were served a meal in the palace, and Benjamin was given five times as much as any of the rest of them (Genesis 43:34). They showed no pleasure in getting rid of Benjamin and hurting their father, as when they had sold Joseph to be a slave. On the contrary, Judah asked to remain in prison instead of Benjamin (44:33, 34). With such a change of heart, they were now ready to recognize Joseph as their leader and cooperate with him in the temporary settlement of Israel in Egypt, which was in God's plan. It is always worthwhile to wait for God to prepare hearts for the fulfillment of the vision He has given us.
It is thus that God may lay a project on our hearts, give us a foretaste of it, and then interrupt it with a wait before bringing it to completion. That wait is not lost time, nor is there anything to be regretted about it. It is simply a time when God is preparing the rest of the work He wants to do. It is an exercise of our confidence in Him.
The author had an experience of this kind. In my youth, I had a strong impression that God was calling me to be an itinerant preacher. A day came when the denomination I then belonged to was calling on my frequently to preach in various churches. It seemed that the vision was about to be fulfilled. Then I discovered that the denomination was making serious compromises with liberalism and helping enemies of the Gospel. It was necessary to leave that denomination for conscience' sake. That caused an interruption.
During the years that followed, there were many opportunities to serve the Lord in various ways, and at times the vision of an itinerant ministry was suppressed and almost forgotten, but could not be erased. It was during that waiting time that the Lord brought me back to the assemblies gathered in the Name of the Lord Jesus, whom I had known in my childhood. An itinerant ministry has become a reality among them. It has proven to be a much more fulfilling ministry than would have been possible with any other affiliation. It was worth waiting through the interruption while God led me to the right fellowship, and opened the doors to fulfill His will.