Remembering Those Who Have Blessed You

“Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
(Genesis 40:23)

One of the things I appreciate about the Bible is the way in which we can read and re-read something, only to discover a verse or passage that we did not notice before. Such was the case for me recently as I was working my way through the book of Genesis. I know I’ve read Genesis chapter forty many times previously. But this time, the verse I quoted above caught my attention as never before. Let me set the stage for you.

As you know, Joseph was the youngest of twelve brothers. Their father, Jacob favored Joseph. This made his brothers jealous of him, so jealous that they considered killing him. God intervened. Instead of killing him, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. Shortly after arriving in Egypt, he refused to compromise his morals with his master’s wife. He was falsely accused by her and thrown into prison for an extended period of time. It was during his time in prison that he correctly interpreted the dreams of two other prisoners, Pharaoh’s baker and his cupbearer. When the cupbearer was released from prison, Joseph asked that he remember him before Pharaoh. That’s when we read, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
 
Now put yourself in Joseph’s position. He was falsely imprisoned for an extended period of time. On top of all of that, he was forgotten by one whom he assisted in a major way. Think with me now about this. My guess is that none of us have been falsely imprisoned. Yet just as surely, I think I’m safe in assuming that each of us knows what it’s like to be forgotten.  Yet as I’ve meditated on this passage, my thoughts did not focus on the times we’ve been forgotten, but rather on the times we’ve forgotten others who have been used by God in our lives. In other words, the cupbearer forgot Joseph. Who have you forgotten?
 
It’s hard for me to imagine that you cannot identify individuals whom God brought into your life at a crucial time. I know I can think of such people. Would you agree that God has a special way of bring special people to us during the stretching seasons of life?

It’s in that light that I want to ask you if you’ve forgotten them, just as the cupbearer forgot Joseph. Here’s what I would ask you to do. Ask God to help you think of someone who has been instrumental in your life. Determine if you’ve adequately expressed your appreciation to them. If not, then act on it. Call them, send them a note, or speak to them face to face. Express how God used them in your life. You will be blessed as you do so. Your expression of thanksgiving is another way of not forgetting God’s goodness to you.