Maybe Today...

     He knew he was innocent. Everyone around him thought otherwise, demanding him to tell the truth, but he knew his hands were clean. For years he had spent time in a jail cell for a crime he did not commit. Every morning he woke up to the same old gray walls surrounding him, the air cold and damp. He yearned to feel the warmth of the sun on his face again, and see the white, cottony clouds floating over his head. With little around him to keep his mind occupied, he often thought back to the years when he had been home with his family, happy and content with his life. Yes, there had  been trials and events that had occurred that had seemed hard at the time, but after the struggles over the last, what was it, a hundred?, years it all seemed like a drop in a bucket. Only his friend the rat knew the entire story of how he had come to live in such a dreary, hopeless place. Yet, with his faith in God, he often wondered if this would be the day that things would change. Maybe today... 
     The one bright spot was the fact that the prison keeper had taken a liking to him and had given him a special job of helping deliver meals and checking on the other prisoners.  That was how he had come across the king's cupbearer and baker, mumbling and complaining about the strange dreams they had both dreamt the night before. God had given him the interpretations the moment the two men had shared their dreams, and three days later both men were taken away, one to freedom and one to his death. Joseph had hoped the cupbearer would remember him and speak kindly of him to Pharaoh , but another year or more passed and nothing changed. 
     Then came the morning when everything changed. All was the same when he opened his eyes and saw the sad, stark gray around him. He got up, said his prayers, and ate the meager meal of gruel that had been placed in his tray. Then came the pacing, back and forth, so he could keep his muscles in shape and not lose hope just lying on the cot. The rattling of the keys outside his door took him by surprise. It was too early for the prison keeper to fetch him for his rounds. What did this mean?
     The door swung opened and he saw the gate keeper standing there with two armed guards. "Come, Joseph, you are wanted at the palace. We need to get you cleaned up."
     With baited breath, Joseph stepped out and went through the ritual of getting cleaned up so he could be presented to Pharaoh. He had no idea why, but his faith in God kept him strong and he was not afraid. He was ready for anything, no matter what happened today.
     Yet, what happened after that took him completely by surprise. After interpreting the Pharaoh's dreams, with God's help and wisdom, he was given the honor of being second in command in the entire land of Egypt. Waking up in prison that morning, and going to sleep in a palace that same night, was like a dream come true. His faith and hope, that maybe today, had seen him through the trials of yesterday. 

     So many people are going through tough times right now. Gray walls of trials surround you, and it appears that you have no chance for escape. Yet, maybe today God will open the door and allow you to see the light, to see that yesterday's trials are today's victories. 
     A song I heard recently struck me as I listened to these word that filled me with hope to continue on, not grow weary, and know that maybe today, it could all change; that maybe today I will heard the good news I have been waiting for; that maybe today things will turn around for good. With God all things are possible:    
"Yesterday's trials give me strength for today, and serve to remind me that He'll make a way. The nighttime is over and now I can see, that yesterday's battles are today's victories."


  

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