Coat of many colors

Eric had a great post on Joseph the dreamer.
He brings out many interesting thoughts and ideas I've never considered when looking at the Old Testament narrative.
I've always enjoyed the story of Joseph because it reminds me of God's faithfulness to His promises.
I've spoken with friends on this several times, but I always feel like I should be doing something more for God and "the kingdom." But as Eric points out:

My father is a graphic designer, and sees Joseph as a businessman and as an outsider relating to the world. As a freelancer, my father’s work places him both deep within companies and at their margins. He supplies ideas, consultations and overhauled images, but he is always an independent contractor. The power of Joseph for him is the power of being second in command, a returning concept in Jewish history from Maimonides, to Albert Einstein, to Joseph Lieberman.
Read this way, the Joseph story is a very conservative one — that through smarts and personality, anyone can get themselves from the pit to the tower. There is a flip side, though. The consultant is always accepted and treated with skepticism at the same time. Ultimately, Joseph’s success in Egypt creates the foundation for the Jews to become enslaved under a new Pharaoh. In other words, the consultant can often make greater changes than those in power, but the ground is always less stable and the future is harder to see (even with prophetic dreams).

It's not always easy being second in command, but many times that is what God calls us to be.
I also remember an e-mail my dad sent me back in July.

1. Abraham was 99 years old before he received God's promise of a legitimate heir.
2. Joseph was enslaved, imprisoned, and an outcast from his brothers for 13 years before God used him to fulfill his mission in his family's life (as this devotional mentions.)
3. Moses spent 40 years in the back side of the desert before God could use him to lead the Israelites to the promised land.
4. Joshua, who was told how to continually be successful, watched Moses for most of 40 years while Joshua's contemporaries died, before God used Joshua to lead Israel to overcome the inhabitants of their promised land.
5. Gideon "fleeced the Lord" twice before he was convinced God would use him to drive the Midianites out. God even gave him a special spy trip to get the inside scoop on the thinking of the Midianites on the the night of the attack, as I remember.
6. David (as recounted in this devotional) was hounded and harassed by Saul for years before God fulfilled His promise to make him King of Israel.
7. Jesus was born a baby, raised to adulthood, and thirty years old before He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and began His public ministry.
...in His time...God makes all things possible in His time.

How good it is to know that God is faithful to guide us and lead us to where He has called us.