Time With Joseph: What Is The Theme In Your Life?
I think it will be useful to compare two passages from this chapter:
“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 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. 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...,”
Genesis 39:2-6 NIV
AND
“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, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 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. 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 39:20-23 NIV
Joseph was a favourite son of a wealthy man. He went from that position to being sold as a slave by his brothers to being wrongly accused and imprisoned. Yet in these two different places it states clearly that “the Lord was with him.”
The question that comes up each time for me is that, how do you define the lord being with you or with anyone else for that matter?
We have all internalised the notion that when God is with you. Everything is smooth. Everything is easy. The circumstance is comfortable and the situation is agreeable. While this is absolutely true, what we have failed to understand about this description is that it depends wholly on our understanding that smooth sailing, comfortable and agreeable lives are in our hearts and minds and not in the physical situation that we see.
The fact of the matter is your knowledge that God is with you has to come first and foremost before your judgement of your surroundings or your situation.
Yesterday a friend, already late for work, left home driving off in a hurry. On the way she realised that she had forgotten her jacket at home. At that moment she’s cursing her luck because she’s already late. It’s cold. She can’t afford to leave her jacket at home. She turns back to go home and what does she see ... she’s left the garage door wide open, meaning literally anyone could have walked into their home and had a field day ... of course she came to share this as a testimony. What seemed inconvenient at the time turned out to have saved them theft or damage to their home.
When priest repeatedly tells us to “see God in everything” he might sound like a broken record (sorry uncle priest), but this is what Joseph has done and this is why he had enough peace of mind and sense of security to behave in such a way that will let God bless the works of his hands wherever he was.
Imagine if Joseph spent his time as a servant or a prisoner sulking or cursing his luck or pitying himself, which is what most, if not all, of us would do, would he have been in any frame of mind to be useful to anyone, talk-less of himself? Even if God did choose to bless the places in which Joseph was, people wouldn’t even have been able to attribute that blessing to Joseph’s presence and the spirit of God that was with him. They would have just attributed it to good luck or their own favour. But Joseph acted in a way that let these people see God in everything.
Today I think we must learn from Joseph to see God in everything. When you walk with God He walks with you and even though situations might seem dire, he doesn’t leave your side.
This is something I have struggled to remember. So Joseph has been a great help and reminder for me on realising that every situation is a blessing. If the rain didn’t fall or the sun didn’t shine the plants won’t grow and we won’t have food. Yet we complain - it’s wet, it’s hot, I’m cold and bothered this and that.
Let’s remember Joseph today whenever we get frustrated and in remembering him let’s remember that God is with us. However let us also remember from yesterday’s lessons, that we can only fully experience the presence of God in our lives when we know that it is Him we serve and defer to.