Keep Your Key

This message is meant to encourage you to keep whatever key the Lord has given to you in life. Although the use of the key on the first few occasions may not open any expected visible door, but if you keep using the key, not throwing it away because of frustration, you will eventually get to the door which God has provided for you to open it with. There is a man in the bible who kept using his key at every opportunity that arose before him. His name is Joseph Jacob. In his case, his key was his dream. He kept his key, getting ceaselessly involved with dreams until dreams saw him into his needed breakthrough, moving from prison to palace.

Doors of Opportunity & Freedom

Some of the events or factors that God used as door of opportunity to free and promote Joseph are listed here below:

1. Relocation (Gen. 37:28). At the time Joseph was being sold to slavery and relocated to Egypt, no one could have known that God was sending him ahead to blessings and solving future problems of his family members that sold him off. God however used this relocation to make him a blessing.

2. Faithfulness to his God (Gen. 39:1-11). Joseph removed himself from invitation to sin against God. If God can trust our faithfulness to Him in living a pure life, God would use that lifestyle to open doors of opportunity for us.

3. Dutifulness to man (Gen. 39:4; 40:3-4). Joseph continued to serve dutifully wherever he was placed.

4. Warm personality (Gen. 40:8). For his fellow prisoners to share their dreams with him, Joseph must have presented himself as a warm and caring person over the time they have related with him.

5. Someone else’s error (Gen. 40:1); Errors of the butler and baker serves part of set up to create opportunity for Joseph to use his gift eventually. Queen Vashti’s error created room of opportunity for Esther to become the next Queen

6. Someone else’s problem (Gen. 40:3): The imprisonment of these other people created an opportunity for Joseph’s talent to be displayed. In another case in the bible, God used Saul’s insanity to create the opportunity for David to be brought to the palace, serving as a musician.

7. Someone else’s needs (Gen. 41:8): God created a need for Pharaoh (a need to have his own dream interpreted) in order for Joseph to shine.

8. Not burying one’s talent because of past troubles: Joseph did not refuse to interpret other dreams because his own dream had gotten him into trouble before. The first time he dreamt, he was met with hatred (Gen. 37:5-8). The second time he shared his dream, it was met with envy (Gen. 37:9-11). It’s amazing that Joseph would still want to have anything to do with dream, to the extent that when his fellow prisoners had their own dream, he still got involved in interpreting (Gen. 40:1-23); With this he was still forgotten in prison. Amazingly, when another opportunity to interpret a dream came up, Joseph still got involved (Gen. 41:14-40). Normally when one tries something one or two times and it does not work, one tends to give up, but not in the case of Joseph. His fourth involvement in matters of dream got him out into his final breakthrough. Never give up on your dream. God will use it for your breakthrough.

9. Caring and Discerning (Gen: 40:6): Joseph noticed that they were sad and took the time to inquire from them what was wrong. On your way to breakthrough, even though you still have issues you are dealing with, if you can make the problems of others to be your concern, this may be the key God wants to use in setting you free. If Joseph did not notice the sad countenance of his fellow prisoners and did not act concerned, they may not have shared their dreams with him and there would not have been any room for him to interpret or any basis for him to be remembered before Pharaoh. Sometimes, the problem you help solve is the foundation for your own breakthrough. It was the hungry and weary man who David helped along his way to that eventually led him to recovering his wives, children, etc. (1 Sam. 30:10-15)

10. Drawing attention to God whenever opportunity arises (Gen. 40:8; 41:16). Joseph affirmed to his fellow prisoners that interpretations belong to God. So must we all do at all times, pointing people’s focus to God instead of ourselves.

11. Being sharp in his skills / talent (Gen. 40:12, etc.). Whatever you know, be good at it.

12. Speaking up (Gen. 40:14). He told the butler to remember him when he becomes free. Every child of God should challenge him or herself to inquire what good one has done for which God could remember one. In case your helper of destiny forgets their duty, God can do something that will make them remember. He caused the king himself to have a dream that will make the butler remember Joseph’s talent (Gen. 41:1). The bible says after you have done all, stand and see what God is going to do (Eph. 6:13).