There stood Joseph right before him, meeting all the requirements. But even then, when it seemed appropriate for Joseph to volunteer, he restrained. The king, however, knew Joseph was the man for the job.

After those two full years, Joseph experienced a turning point in his life—on a day that seemed like any other day. That morning dawned like every other morning over the previous two years. Just like the morning that dawned before Moses saw the burning bush. Just like the morning that dawned before David was anointed by Samuel as the king-elect.

The process of discovering, processing, purifying, and shaping gold is a lengthy, painstaking process. Affliction is gold in the making for the child of God, and God is the one who determines how long the process takes. He alone is the Refiner.

When Joseph saw the cupbearer taken from the prison, he must have thought, Now’s my chance! This guy has Pharaoh’s ear. He’ll get me out of here. We don’t know whether Joseph knew what happened to these men, but when their release came within the predicted time, he must have figured that, with God’s help, he had given the correct interpretation of the dreams.

Pain, when properly handled, can shape a life for greatness. History is replete with stories of those whose struggles and scars formed the foundation for remarkable achievements.

I smile as I read this, because if anybody ought to have had a sad face, it should have been Joseph. His plight was much worse than theirs. They were there on a whim of the Pharaoh and surely would not be there forever. But Joseph had been accused by the chief executioner’s wife and didn’t know if he’d ever see the light of day.

A cupbearer was the person who tasted the wine and food of the king before he ate or drank. That way, if it was poisoned, “So long, cupbearer,” but “Long live Pharaoh!” He also would not allow poorly prepared food to be served to the pharaoh since he was responsible for watching the monarch’s diet.

Twice we read in that short account, “The Lord was with Joseph.” Joseph began to see the hand of God in his prison experience. In what could have been the direst of positions, the dreariest of places, Joseph prospered.

If anybody knew about unfair treatment, about a false accusation, about being an innocent victim on the receiving end, it was Joseph. First, he received unfair treatment from his family. His brothers hated him, wanted to kill him, but sold him into slavery instead.

Imagine what must have been going through Joseph’s mind at this point, shortly after he was incarcerated. He was not only innocent, he had resisted blatant temptation over and over again.