Service In The Dungeon
In Genesis 37, Joseph is sold by his brothers out of jealousy as a slave into Egypt. He ends up in Potiphar’s house, and God favours and puts him in charge of Potiphar’s household. But trouble lurks around the corner when Potiphar’s wife begins to lust after him. The Bible tells us that ‘Joseph was handsome in form and appearance‘, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Potiphar’s wife was one of the most beautiful women in the land. Nevertheless, Joseph holds on to his integrity and resists temptation day after day. One day, Potiphar’s wife ‘caught him by the garment’, but Joseph escaped from her grip and left his garments in her hands. She uses that garment to cook up a story and falsely accuses Joseph of attempted rape. This lie resulted in Joseph being demoted from a man in charge of Potiphar’s house to being a prisoner in the dungeon. But even in the dungeon, we see God work in Joseph’s life.
Taking my mind back to medieval movies I have seen, a dungeon is a cell where prisoners are held, especially underground. A place that’s dark and associated with endless physical and psychological torture to break the human spirit and sometimes to kill—a slow and painful death. Therefore, the dungeon couldn’t have been a pleasant place for Joseph.
Though we may not have physical dungeons in our civilised society today, many of our experiences through life can be likened to being in a dungeon. The dungeon experience represents unpleasant seasons in our lives that we never expected to be in or we never thought would be part of our story. It is a period in which we find ourselves enclosed by walls that confine us into spaces where we lack freedom and the ability to engage in life’s journey meaningfully or in the way we desire.
Many times, our stories before the seasons in the dungeon are just like Josephs’. Things may not be perfect, but just okay to get by. We can sense God’s blessings in our lives; we overcome temptation and live victoriously in various areas of our lives. We expect to be rewarded for overcoming temptation and faithfully walking with God. Then, suddenly, things turn for the worse, and we find ourselves in the dungeon.
In those days, as a prisoner in the dungeon, your life was filled with uncertainty. The ruler could wake up and decide to cut off your head to mark an event or celebration. No rule of law respected your right; the word of the king became law instantly. We see this reality in the life of the chief baker in Genesis 40:20-22, and we also get a snippet of this in the life of king Herod in Matthew 14, where John the Baptist was beheaded. One of the most agonising aspects of being in the dungeon is that you don’t know when you would regain freedom or if you would only be out of the dungeon to be executed for entertainment. Any day could be your last.
Many of us can relate to seasons where we can’t plan for the future because of the level of uncertainty that surrounds our lives. At such times, the future isn’t only bleak but looks like our end. So as Christians, what can we do when we find ourselves in the dungeon? What can we learn from Joseph in the dungeon? —Service.
Seek ways to serve others. While in the dungeon, Joseph observed the pain of others and gave himself selflessly to them. He noticed that the chief cupbearer and baker of the king, who were also prisoners, were troubled, and he asked, ‘Why are your faces downcast today?’ They explain that they ‘had dreams and there is no one to interpret them‘. Joseph listens to them as they narrate their dream, and he interprets them.
As a Christian, there is a lesson we can draw from here; when you are in the midst of a trial, don’t be consumed with your distress that you refuse to offer a helping hand to those around you or become insensitive to the needs of others. (see Recovering from Ruins – Part 3)
God sees you going through that dungeon experience, and He will not only make a way out but will show forth His glory through your experience.
If Joseph were self-centred, he would not interpret the dreams of his fellow inmates. As a result, his journey towards freedom would probably have been longer. However, the cupbearer who came out of prison remembered Joseph as an interpreter of dreams and referred him to the king when he needed a dream interpreter (Gen 41:1-36). We see this in the life of Jesus Christ too. During His ministry, even when exhausted, He still gave himself to the people and the work of the gospel. I’ll be the first to admit that it is natural to focus on your own needs when you go through difficulties. But a higher calling is to be a blessing to others amid your pain.
Another point we can take away from this story is that even in the dungeon, God is still sovereign; He is in control. Following the interpretation of the chief cupbearer’s dream, Joseph asked the chief cupbearer to remember him when he is released from prison. Unfortunately, ‘the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him‘, and two years passed. I believe God allowed the cupbearer to forget until the time He had ordained that Joseph would regain not only his freedom but also become Egypt’s prime minister.
God does this over and over in our lives. He shows up just at the right time and when He is ready to show forth His sovereignty and glory through our lives. God sees you going through that dungeon experience, and He will not only make a way out but will show forth His glory through your experience. Just like Joseph, your mission is to keep serving, even in the dungeon.
In my leisure time, I’m currently watching a Netflix series titled ‘For Life’. It’s a series about a young husband and father incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. While in prison, he becomes a lawyer and helps his fellow prisoners earn their freedom. By fighting for the freedom of others, he paved the way for himself to be set free. But one of the scenes truly touched my heart. He meets an older man who he helped regain his freedom, and as the elderly man is about to leave prison after many years, he turns and says something along the lines of ‘even if you never come out of here, keep doing what you are doing. I never did anything with my time in prison. You on the other hand did, and you should continue making a difference.’
When you look back at difficult seasons in your lives, how was your attitude? Did you serve, sulk or bless others? We can draw out from the lesson today that we are called to serve even in the dungeon.
