Women’s Devotional – Day 5
My favorite story in the Bible is the story of Joseph. If you aren’t familiar with Joseph’s life, he begins as a beloved son, betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, becomes a prisoner, and then God gave him the knowledge to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and Pharaoh appointed Joseph second-in-command in all of Egypt! That’s the skinny version of his life story, but what a whirlwind of highs and lows.
Joseph’s life story can be found throughout Genesis chapters 37-50, but let’s look at chapter 39.
Genesis 39:1-23
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.
2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 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. 5 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. 6 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.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 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, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 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. 23 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.
Notice a progression of the phrase “the Lord was with Joseph”, it’s repeated 4 times.
- Verse 2: “And the Lord was with Joseph”
- Verse 3: “And the master saw that the Lord was with him”
- Verse 21: “But the Lord was with Joseph”, Verse 23: “because the Lord was with him”. This repetition recognizes the challenges he faced throughout his life but the Lord was with him through each season.
If someone was recounting the story of your life, what would they say about you? The greatest thing anyone can say about your life was that the Lord was with you. It is the distinguishing characteristic of the blessed life.
Do you want to be blessed by the Lord?
Remember, the blessing is not measured in material things; it is manifested in His presence. When you get the Blesser, you get the blessings.
For Joseph in Genesis 37, the future was uncertain, circumstances unexpected, and people unpredictable. None of that by itself sounds very promising, but there was one other detail to consider: “The Lord was with him”.
Reflection:
What season of life are you in right now and what are some ways you have seen the Lord manifest His presence to you in this season?
What blessings can you reflect on, tangible or intangible, that God has given you?
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for your faithfulness to me in every season, on the mountaintop and in the valley. I boldly declare your promise today, that just like you were with Joseph, you are with me! Draw me close to you today as I rest in the truth of your Word.
Amen.