53 And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.

54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

The time of plenty was drawing to a close on all that region of the world, but not on the life of Joseph. He had been made to suffer separately from the rest of the world but now he was going to flourish apart from it as well. In all the area was a great famine and hunger, but in Joseph’s storehouses there was grain aplenty.

When the Egyptians complained to Pharaoh about the issue, he simply referred them to Joseph. “What he saith to you, do.” This is one matter of royal responsibility that the Pharaoh did not need to lose any sleep over. This very well could have been the single greatest hurdle of his entire rulership, and the whole thing had already been taken care of!

I can’t help but assume that seeing seven years of plenty, just as Joseph had foretold, would have cemented Pharaoh’s faith in the entire interpretation. By the sixth and seventh years it would have been easy to start assuming that the extreme yield would never subside. But then it did. Then as the famine proceeded year after year, one might be tempted to assume that there would never be good times again. But there would be, and Pharaoh could rest easy in that knowledge, because he had already seen the first half of Joseph’s prophecy come true.

There is a lesson to be learned of the calming reassurance that comes by having God’s guidance in our lives. Things might be tumultuous, good and then bad and then good again. When we are in the middle of a season it might be easy to feel like it will last forever. But though there be chaos around us, and for very long, if we are securely tucked in the hand of our maker, uncertainties can be sureties, giving us a constant, abiding peace inside.