Have you ever looked at your life and wondered where God is in all of it? Certain prayers were never answered the way you had hoped. You wished for an open door or even a closed door, but it never came. A young man named Joseph knew exactly how that feels. This chapter, which we read in its entirety, tells how Joseph goes from a slave to the place of honour and then back to prison again. Through it all, the Lord was with him.
That same truth is yours today, whatever your circumstance.
“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favour in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” (Genesis 39)
Today, right now, in this moment, God is with you! It matters not the circumstance. You can be living in pleasant surroundings (v2) or even in a prison (v20-21) today, the Lord is with you! When the Lord is with you, then there must be the expectancy of Him working in you.
Today, right now, in this moment, the favour of God is on you! It matters not the circumstance. Joseph became Potiphar’s attendant (v4). Joseph became the prison warder’s charge-hand (v22). It is what you become through the circumstance that is the heart of any story. When the favour of the Lord is on you, then there must be the expectancy of affecting others.
Today, right now, in this moment, others are being blessed by the Lord through you! It matters not the circumstance. Everything Potiphar had was being blessed by God (v5). The prison warden was a happy man, knowing an incredible season of success (v23). Look around at the people God is blessing significantly simply because you are here!
Today, right now, in this moment, your character is being tested! It matters not the circumstance. Joseph refused Potiphar’s wife when no one was watching (v8-9). Joseph fled even when it cost him everything (v12). It is not what is done to you through the circumstance, but what is found in you through it. When the Lord is with you, then there must be the expectancy of His strength to do right.
Today, right now, in this moment, your prison has a purpose! It matters not the circumstance. Joseph did nothing to deserve the false accusation (v13-18). Joseph did nothing to deserve the prison cell (v20). It is not the injustice of the moment that defines the journey, but the destiny beyond it. When the Lord is with you, then there must be the expectancy that no wrong road can derail His right plan.
Joseph’s story did not end in the pit, in Potiphar’s house, or in prison.
So today, right now, in this moment — look up. God is with you. If you are in a ‘prison’, then it has a purpose ahead of it that you cannot yet see.
All that matters is His presence. He makes all the difference today, right now, in this moment.
Missions Paul 