“The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeed in everything he did.” - Genesis 39:2
The story of Joseph is probably my favorite story in the Bible. The story of Joseph reminds us that God is so powerful that He is willing and able to work with and through sin and that when life seems out of control, faith says, “God is always in control.”
Last week, I wrote about Abraham’s covenant with God. God told Abraham to leave his home country and go to the land that God would identify for him, and God promised to bless Abraham, to bless those who bless Abraham, and to curse those who dishonor him. Abraham is told he will be a blessing to his descendants and all the world's families, and because he did what he was told, God kept His promises and blessed Abraham.
Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah, and they had twin sons named Jacob and Esau. Jacob had 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Joseph was one of Jacob’s sons and Jacob’s favorite. Because he was Jacob’s favorite, his brothers were jealous of him and sold him into slavery. Joseph was taken to Egypt and eventually became steward to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's (the Egyptian ruler) officials. In the Bible, it says that the Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did, and Potiphar put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. God began to bless Potiphar’s house because of Joseph Genesis (39:1-6).
One day, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, and even though Joseph ran from her, Joseph was thrown in jail (Genesis 39:6-16). But God stayed with Joseph in prison and showed him so much faithful love that Joseph became a favorite of the prison warden, and he put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners. The warden then had no more worries because God was with Joseph and caused everything he did to succeed (Genesis 39:23). God blessed the warden in prison because of Joseph.
Since he was young, Joseph could interpret dreams, and because of this, he was freed from prison and asked to interpret the Pharoah’s dreams. God was with Joseph, and because of his ability to interpret the dreams, Pharoah put Joseph in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Joseph told Pharoah that his dreams meant that 7 years of famine were about to hit Egypt, and they had to prepare for it, and Joseph’s new job was to oversee that.
Over the next 7 years, Joseph helped stored up enough food for everyone, and when the famine came, Joseph and Egypt were prepared. The famine was long and hard on everyone, and when anyone needed food and would cry out to Pharoah for help, he would tell them, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you (Genesis 41:55).”
God blessed Pharoah and all of Egypt because of Joseph.
During the famine, Jacob's sons (Joseph’s brothers who sold him into slavery) came to Egypt to plead with Joseph for supplies, but they didn’t recognize him and they didn’t know that this was actually their brother.
Eventually, Joseph told them who he was, and Joseph invited his family to come and settle and live in Egypt.
This is my favorite Bible story because Joseph did not live an easy, fairytale life. His life was tough. His brothers didn’t like him, so they sold him into slavery. But God was with him, and Joseph became the head of the household of Potiphar, one of the Pharoah’s highest officials. Then when Potiphar’s wife lied about him, Joseph was sent to prison, but God was with him and Joseph became one of the leaders in prison. Because God was with him, Joseph could interpret dreams and was eventually put in charge of all of Egypt. Because God was with him, Joseph was able to store up enough food for the entire region so that they could survive a 7-year famine.
Someone tried to hurt him in every part of Joseph’s life, but God was always with him and blessed people through Joseph.
Life isn’t always easy. I tell my athletes, “It is supposed to be hard. If success was easy, everyone would do it.” But how do you keep going when it feels too hard? How do you keep going when your brothers sell you into slavery, or someone lies on you and puts you in jail?
You keep believing in God and His promises. Remember that God made us good and in His image. You were made perfect in God’s eyes, and any doubts or negative thoughts are from the devil. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance to the full, till it overflows (John 10:10).
God expects us to trust Him, even when it runs counter to what appears to be true. All things work together for the good of those who believe and who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
THIS WEEK
1 - Have you ever been in a situation where people lied on you, said mean things to or about you, or tried to throw you under the bus? How did you respond?
2 - How would you respond if you were in Joseph’s situation?
3 - Life is going to be hard. There will be adversity and roadblocks that come your way. How can you respond when obstacles get in your way?
4 - The most powerful muscle that we have is our mind. What can you say to yourself when life gets tough so that you stay connected with God?
Pray:
No matter what is going on around me, I will have faith in the Lord, I will have faith that God is who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do.
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