In Chapter 39 we are reminded that Joseph is sold to one of Pharaoh's officials, Potiphar, but what really stands out to me is the next line afterwards. "The Lord was WITH Joseph so that he prospered and lived in the house of the Egyptian master." Put yourself in Joseph's shoes for just a second, do you really think you would still have faith in the Lord after all you've gone through? If I'm honest with myself, after being kicked while I'm down that much I think I would really be struggling with that yet Joseph remained faithful in the Lord and as we see it rewards him in a sense. That alone encourages me so much. We go through some really tough times in life but we can always remain in God, we can always be sure that no matter how down and out we may go, he is ALWAYS with us.
Because God lived inside Joseph he seemed "different" than everyone around him. "His master saw that the Lord gave him success" and because of that he put him in charge of all his possessions. Just a second ago Joseph was just some slave that Potiphar could potentially care less about. But Joseph was so much different than just that. THE LORD LIVED INSIDE OF HIM and because of that Potiphar knew there was something about him that he wanted. We can dot his in our everyday lives. We can live our lives with Christ inside of us and people are going to notice that difference in the way we live- exactly how Potiphar saw that in Joseph. Really take a moment and think about that. Our influence amounts to so much when we live our lives for Christ. It will not always be easy but it is the most plentiful thing that will ever fill us up. I just encourage any of you (including myself) to continue to strive for that lifestyle because it can be a gateway to so many on a new life full of true, everlasting life.
Continuing on in this story, Joesph's life takes a turn for the worst. His life is literally like a roller coaster with SO many ups and downs. As he remained a good "servant" to Potiphar and continued to build his way up he gets knocked down for something he didn't even do. Potiphar's wife becomes very fond of Joseph and several times she tried to get him to sleep with her- every time Joseph turns her down and remains faithful to Potiphar as a servant, but more importantly to the Lord. One day when no one is around Joseph is completely set up. He still manages to turn her down again and gets away but in the process he leaves his cloak in her bedroom. She goes along with a story that Joseph raped her and left his cloak as evidence. Potiphar didn't even have to think about it, he immediately throws Joseph into prison. That has got to be so incredibly hard for Joseph. He gets knocked down by his brothers, picks himself back up and starts living a decent life again and then just like that, he gets knocked down to the bottom again. That is so similar to how our lives can be though, we are always going to feel on top of the world at one moment and then before we know it we can easily be thrown to the bottom and all we can do is sit there and wonder to ourselves what could have gone wrong. We get to that point where we just want to give up and throw in the towel. Hold on to that thought though because the story is far from over.
Joseph is in prison. He has every reason to give up, every reason to be angry with the Lord, every reason to weep away at his life. He is in prison for something he didn't even do, he remained honorable yet is being forced to pay the time. Even then, with all of that crap going on in his life, he remained faithful in the Lord and guess what? "THE LORD WAS WITH HIM." The Lord showed Joseph favor while he was in Prison so the guard in the prison saw something in Joseph and he knew he could trust him with whatever. He knew that he didn't have to pay close attention to him while in prison. "The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in WHATEVER he did." Uh, how great is our God? Seriously think about that one for a second. Despite ALL the knock downs that Joseph faced, despite the betrayals of the ones he loved, despite the hardship and false accusations, the man remains loyal and faithful to the Lord.
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