YouVersion Logo
Search Icon

Plan Info

Josh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample

Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions

DAY 337 OF 366

BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS. Imagine how you'd feel in this situation. Joseph had been falsely accused and thrown into prison. After he'd been there a while, two other prisoners joined him: Pharaoh's chief cup bearer and chief baker. One night the cup bearer and the baker both had dreams, and they mentioned them to Joseph. When they described their dreams to Joseph, he told them what their dreams meant. "Good news," he told the cup bearer. "Three days from now Pharaoh will take you out of prison and make you his chief cup bearer again." The cup bearer was overjoyed. "And please have some pity on me," Joseph asked him, "when you're back in Pharaoh's good favor. Mention me to Pharaoh and ask him to let me out of here, too." Then Joseph turned to Pharaoh's former baker. "Bad news," he said. "Three days from now Pharaoh will cut off your head." Things happened exactly as Joseph had said. Within three days Pharaoh gave a banquet. He called for his former cup bearer to be released from prison and ordered that his former baker be executed. But the cup bearer quickly forgot Joseph's request, and Joseph remained in prison. But even though the cup bearer was unfaithful to Joseph, God was faithful. Two years later Pharaoh had a dream, a dream that none of his magicians and wise men could figure out. It was then that the cup bearer remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh how Joseph had told the meaning of his dream and the baker's dream. Pharaoh took Joseph out of prison and told him his dream. Joseph listened and, with God's help, explained the meaning of the dream to Pharaoh. Joseph's story (found in Genesis 40-41) shows how unfaithful people can be. It also shows that, no matter how unfaithful your friends or even your family members might be, God is always faithful. The prophet Jeremiah said, "The unfailing love of the Lord never ends.. . . Great is his faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). In fact, that's how we know that faithfulness is right-because it's like God. God commands faithfulness, because God is faithful. He never lets us down. He never abandons us. He never ignores us. He never forgets us. He is faithful. And because God is faithful, we should be faithful, too. REFLECT: Did the cup bearer do the right thing in today's Bible reading? Why or why not? What makes faithfulness right and unfaithfulness wrong? Have you ever acted like the cup bearer? If so, in what ways? Are you being faithful to God? to your family? to your friends? PRAY: "God, your unfailing love never ends. Great is your faithfulness. Please help me to be faithful to you and to my family and friends."
Day 336Day 338

About this Plan

Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions

Written for teenagers to use in their daily quiet time readings, this plan will make them laugh or cry. Some are fiction, some are stranger than fiction, but each will help you discover how to make right choices in the e...

More

© 2011 Josh McDowell Ministry. All rights reserved. No part of these Materials may be changed in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from Josh McDowell Ministry, 2001 W Plano Pkwy, Ste. 2400, Plano, TX 75075. www.josh.org. +1 972 907 1000. Used by Permission.

YouVersion uses cookies to personalize your experience. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy