Today's reading Genesis 40-42

Joseph Goes to Egypt (Gen. 39:1,2)
After arriving in Egypt, Joseph became a slave of the Egyptian officer Potiphar. But this slaves fortunes changed dramatically. Joseph's rise to power saw him become first the overseer of Potiphar's house(39:4), and eventually the ruler over all of Egypt, second in power to the Egyptian pharaoh himself (14:39-43).
The Prisoner's Dreams (40:1-23)

One possible setting for the Joseph story is the period when the Hyksos people ruled Egypt. Before the Hyksos people arrived, there was a political upheaval which made Egypt ripe for them to invade. The hyksos dynasty lasted more than a century (1648-1540 B.C.) The ethnic background of the Hyksos is one reason for setting the Joseph story during this period. These invaders were a mixture of Semitic and Asiatic peoples. In an Egypt ruled by such foreigners, it is possible that someone like Joseph, himself being Semitic and foreign, could rise from a servant to a position of high office.

Pharaoh's Dreams (41:1-37)

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt (42:1-24)
The Brothers Return to Canaan (24-38)

Egypt's Seven Lean years (Gen. 41:25-32)
Pharaoh's dreams involved seven fat cows and seven plump heads of grain which were devoured by seven ugly cows and seven thin heads of grain, respectively (Gen. 41:1-7) In Joseph's interpretation, the ugly cows and thin heads symbolized seven years of famine (41:25-32) The record of the seven lean years in Egypt appears to have an antecedent in Egyptian literature.

The Egyptian text recounts a letter that Djoser (a pharaoh of the 3rd century) wrote to his overseer in Elephantine in southern Egypt, lamenting the fact that the "Nile has not come in my time for a space of seven years." Consequently grain was scarce, fruits were dried up , and "every man robbed his companion."

Imhotep, the renowned vizier of chief minister to Djoser, proceeds to tell him about the god Khnum, who resides at the birthplace of the Nile, namely Elephantine. Pharaoh Djoser then has a dream in which the god tells him that the Nile would soon "pour forth for you." Thus, plants would again grow and starvation would cease. The Pharaoh awoke refreshed and presumably then drafted the text for his official at Elephantine.

Isn't it interesting how God orchestrates the plan for our lives. If we allow Him to do so. Many times we cause a kink in God's plan for us by making our plans apart from seeking His will for our lives.

As I watch the news out of Haiti this week, and heard the many miraculous stories coming out about people who have survived; many questions have come to my mind. What would I do in that situation? Would I be able to survive such a tragedy? Would I be able to help others? One story in particular caught my attention. It was a lady who works for the CDC here in Atlanta. Everyone had been looking for her. Many hours after the earthquake someone found her. She was buried under rubble, she had some injuries to her legs and other things, but the most amazing thing to me was that the news report said that she was caught in the rubble, "by her hair". How amazing that her head wasn't crushed. There could only be a possibility of inches between life and death for her. Do you think that was just a coincidence? I don't. God in his divine plan for her life, made sure that her head was not crushed. She further reported that she survived by taking very shallow breaths for all those hours. What a terrifying situation to be in; but yet, in spite of the tons of debri that fell she seems to have had only a few broken bones as the worst of her injuries.

The answer to all of my questions is "JESUS". He is the one who decides. I have an appointed time and nothing can change that. Praise God, has a plan for your life too. Seek his face and follow his plan for your life and see his glory manifested through you.