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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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. The Lord was with Joseph and 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 he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Genesis 39:1-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
After looking at the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis, chapter 38, we pick back up with the story of Joseph who you may remember had been sold into slavery by his brothers. You’ll recall that they had sold him to the Ismaelites who in turn took him to Egypt where he was purchased by Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the guard.
Now, one can only imagine how Joseph must have felt at this point, going from being Jacob’s favored son to a slave in a faraway, strange land with customs far different than the Israelite culture he grew up in. For him, it was a time of uncertainty, both in what would happen in the present and future.
This brings me to a question for you to ponder in regard to today’s message:
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of uncertainty brought on by unexpected change?
Maybe a tragic loss of a loved one left you suddenly alone and fending for yourself.
Maybe you have lost a job when you needed every penny just to get by.
Maybe you suffered an injury or were diagnosed with an illness that left you unable to do the things you dreamed of doing.
Or maybe you encountered an unplanned expense and were left in a place where you didn’t have the money to cover the cost.
Live life long enough and we will learn one important truth. The only thing that is certain in this worldly life is that it is uncertain.
Well, Joseph was certainly in the midst of uncertainty and he must have missed home badly. Little did he know that his father believed he was dead after his other sons tricked him into believing Joseph had been killed by wild animals.
Given his precarious situation, all would have surely been lost for Joseph if it weren’t for one very important thing. For the scriptures tell us that the Lord was with him and helped Joseph prosper in the house of Potiphar. In fact, we read where Joseph was so successful that he was appointed attendant, placed "in charge of” Potiphar’s “household” and “entrusted to” take care of “everything he owned."
You know, the success of Joseph in the face of hardship should serve as a reminder that the same God that was with Him is with us. And yet, unfortunately we have a tendency to forget this when the hard times come.
When I think about this, I can’t help but remember a famous writing that was simply called "Footprints”. To summarize it, there are two sets of footprints in the sand for a certain distance, representing one person walking with the Lord alongside. Suddenly, the pair of footprints becomes just one set during a time of difficulty for the person. This leads them to assume that the Lord has left them when they needed Him most. In response to this, we find the Lord telling the person that the single set of footprints actually belonged to Him and it was during that time that the Lord was carrying them through their time of hardship.
Friends, what an awesome assurance we have knowing that we serve a loving God who is ready to carry us through the tough times in life. All we need to do is just call on His name.
Well, as we go back to our passage for today, we see where Joseph wasn’t the only one who prospered from the Lord. For we read that Potiphar’s household flourished because of Joseph and Potiphar knew it because he permitted Joseph to have control over everything except his food and "did not concern himself about anything."
Joseph had gained Potiphar’s complete trust and it was all because of the Lord.
So we see where all is working out for Joseph despite the unknown future he had when he entered Egypt under the bondage of the Ishmaelites and it’s happening because God is making it happen.
The same thing can happen for any believer today if they will just place their hope and trust in the One who can do all things, in good times and bad. Ultimately, He has a plan for your life and the scriptures tell us that He is always working things out for the good of those who love Him, those called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).
All we need to do is keep faith when the trials of life come and trust that our Lord will deliver for us in His perfect way and in His perfect time.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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