When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and then when he was locked up in the prison house, it must have seemed to him that all those dreams he dreamed as a younger man had really meant nothing He had dreamed that God was going to make something special out of his life, but here he is going nowhere fast. It must have seemed like God had forgotten all about Joseph. Surely, Joseph felt alone, deserted and defeated by the trials and problems he faced.

Notice that even in the prison, Joseph remained faithful. For him, it was just another place of service. This tells us a lot about this man named Joseph. He was a man of integrity, who was going to remain faithful to the Lord despite his circumstances. Even in this prison experience, we do not find Joseph sitting in his cell whining about how unfair everything is. We find him being a man of God, even when nothing is going his way! Abraham was one such man. Although he was advanced in age and his wife was barren, God promised him a child and, at the designated time, that promise was fulfilled.

Earlier God had spoken to Abraham, saying, “Get out of your country from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:1– 2). Notice that when God spoke to Abraham, He never laid out the complete picture of his life. When He told Abraham to leave his country, God didn’t tell him where he was going or how to get there, yet Abraham obeyed. God isn’t going to lay out all the details of a dream before us; He gives us one piece of the puzzle at a time. It’s up to us to connect each of the pieces by faith in His Word. Each step toward a dream must be taken in faith. That’s just what Abraham did.