Disappointed: Day Two

When we left yesterday Joseph was on his way to Egypt because of an evil plot from his brothers that was silently underwritten by the mighty hand of God. Although God is not the author of sin, He still has authority over it! We looked at the definition of God’s sovereignty and how it is vital to our spiritual walk to begin to accept His providence in all things. We also learned that all testing, trial and tribulation brought on by our circumstances is ultimately filtered through the hand of the Almighty.

It is good for us to lay the proper foundation in order to handle the twists and turns we will encounter as we move through our study. One such turn awaits us today. Read Genesis 39: 1-20.

Who was Potiphar? What was Joseph in charge of? Why?

Upon arrival in Egypt, the Midianites didn’t sell Joseph to just anybody. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, a man who was in charge of the royal guards. The NASB says, “the captain of the bodyguard.” The man who is captain over the men who guard Pharaoh is no joke! He isn’t the police chief, he is the head of the secret service!

So Joseph is automatically placed in a home of high standing within the Egyptian government. This was almost unheard of based on the fact that Joseph was an illegal alien so to speak. Joseph was a Hebrew so he was a foreigner for starters.
Secondly, he was not a known entity. He hadn’t been in Egypt for a while, he didn’t come with credentials but yet he was a servant inside Potiphar’s house. Furthermore, in short order, he was placed in charge of everything Potiphar owned. It states in verse 8, “There is no one greater in this house than I.”

This is direct evidence that God’s hand continued to guide, bless and orchestrate everything that happened to Joseph. Well, I must say, if you have to be sold into slavery then this is the way to go. No doubt, things could have been much worse. I wonder if he thought about going home? I’m sure he thought often of his family but did he feel like his fate was sealed? Or did he hold out hope that one day he might see them again?

Despite his current circumstances, Joseph continued to serve the Lord with diligence. I am drawn to one particular phrase at the end of verse 9. Joseph tells Potiphar’s wife, “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God.” Joseph was not embittered over his circumstances. His utmost concern was to be obedient to the Lord in all things. So when Potiphar’s wife pursued him sexually his concern was first to the Lord. Sure the sin would have been against Potiphar but more importantly the Lord. Joseph’s trust and faithfulness to the Lord never waned, in fact, it seemed to grow!

That is the funny thing with trials. When we are in times of testing we can either draw close to the Lord or pull away. I have done both. I am not proud to admit that my first instinct quite often is to pull away, to lash out. However, the times when I have chosen to draw close are a sweet time between us! I have often found myself longing for that kind of intimacy when all is right with the world. It seems that there is no dependence that compares to a genuine need for help in distress. A time when “I need thee every hour”!

I can’t say that I wouldn’t have been bitter though. I can’t say I wouldn’t have been angry with the Lord for the injustice that got me to Egypt in the first place and now this? Are you kidding? Minding my own business, still faithfully serving and then trouble finds me! No vindication, no witnesses to defend me and now prison. Are you scratching your head? Or better yet, has your jaw dropped while you shake your head in disbelief? Me too!

It seems that our hero is on a highway headed straight to hopelessness! But in the last few verses of our chapter we see once again the hand of the Lord moving. Finish chapter 39 by reading verses 21-23.

Isn’t this a glimmer of hope in the midst of dismal despair? This is evidence of the sweetness of the God that we serve. I have a particular verse that I cling to often in the midst of trials that is a lifeline to me in times of seemingly utter despair. It was written by David and expresses a desire to see the goodness of the Lord prevail.

Psalm 27:13, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

There is something within us that fights for justice and vengeance. We long for things to be made right and when we are at a crossroads where it seems that all is undone we cannot help but feel deep within our spirits that this is not the way it was meant to be. The truth is, this isn’t the way it was meant to be. It was never meant for sin to enter into a perfect world where we had complete communion with God. It was never meant that our hearts would devise evil against others and that our feet would run quickly to shed blood. It was never meant for spouses to be unfaithful, hatred and envy to rule and death to reign.

Furthermore, we cannot escape the witness of our hearts that testifies to the fact that sin is not the way it should be. “In that [we] show the work of the Law written in [our] hearts, [our] conscience bearing witness to [our] thoughts alternately accusing or defending [us]” (Romans 2:15). Our conscience tells us either by guilt or by approval whether something is right or not. Leaving circumstances undone causes us to fight for something that we believe to be right. There have been many times when I have pleaded with the Lord, “you just can’t leave it this way! There has to be a different ending!”

Praise God there is a better ending, indeed the best ending, in the shape of a cross. Jesus came to make straight the crooked paths and to open the lifegate that was once closed by sin. Sin is not the end, it is not the way it is supposed to be and our gracious God did not leave it that way. He has not left sin unattended or the sinner unredeemed. Sin has been addressed and the goodness of the Lord has already prevailed!

Listen girls, we have got to stop looking at our circumstances as indication of how God feels about us and look at the cross! The cross shows us how God feels about us once and for all! “What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Do you get that? While you were still unlovable, a wretched sinner, Christ died for you. Not after you were cleaned up. Not after you had done a few charitable deeds. While we were still sinners. God’s love for you is not dependent upon you. God’s love is dependent upon Himself, His character and His great name. He has saved you for His name’s sake. He will see it through, He will see YOU through!

My encouragement to you today as we close is this: It is so easy to despair under our circumstances. It is so easy to become disappointed in God when we have an acute focus on today. Broaden your scope to include the cross! Refocus the lens and look through the nail pierced hands to see the truth about how God feels about you.

Joseph might have been in the dungeon but he wasn’t in despair. He believed he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Do you sweet sister? Do you?