The one where the reeds bowed down

So, we were going for a walk and as we walked past some reeds they bowed down to us.

Why would this be?

Did they recognise our awesomeness or was there something else at work?

As I looked at the bowing reeds, I thought about Joseph’s dream.

One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” (Genesis 37.5-7)

His brothers were really irritated by Joseph telling them about his dream but ultimately it came true even though they were against it.

Joseph ended up as a ruler in Egypt and through God’s guidance he ended up putting into practice a God inspired plan that meant that Egypt was the only place with food during a famine. Joseph’s brothers turned up to Egypt to buy food and as they came into Joseph’s presence they bowed to him and in that moment I’m sure Joseph remembered his dream from years earlier.

Depending on your belief, God either caused or used various events in Joseph’s life to bring him to the right place at the right time so that Joseph could say,

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (Genesis 50.20)

Back to our bowing reeds. It happened to be a windy day and the truth is that we didn’t make the reeds move, the wind did.

Joseph didn’t make his brothers bow down to him but God did.

God can do the impossible and he is constantly at work. Joseph’s life was pretty miserable at times but in it all he was faithful to God and in the end God’s will was accomplished through him in an amazing way that saved people.

We may really believe that God will do certain things but sometimes when we don’t see instant results we can feel discouraged. Will we be like Joseph, clinging to and looking to God for his leading in life or will we grow discouraged and give up?

If I walked past those reeds tomorrow they might not bow down because it would depend on the wind. It would be outside of my power to control.

As we walk through life, let’s pray to God that the wind of his spirit would be blowing and changing things so that his will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. There is so much in life that it outside our control but God is all powerful, so let’s bring it to him and put our trust him in all situations.