Genesis 39:23 “The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”
I am reading through Genesis again, and when I read about Joseph in chapters 37 and 39, this last verse in 39 jumped out at me. Jealousy led his brothers to sell him to traders and he ended up in Egypt working for an officer of Pharoh named Potiphar. When Potiphar’s wife chased after him to sleep with her, he repeatedly refused, explaining how his master trusted him completely, and ended with, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” He understood that firstly this was sin, and secondly that it wasn’t just a sin against Potiphar but against God. It reminds me of David who after he repented from having sex with Bathsheba and killing Uriah her husband, says in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
Joseph like David was in relationship with God. But in spite of being in relationship, God didn’t change Joseph’s circumstance; instead, He was “with him” and whatever Joseph did, “the Lord made it succeed.” God was with him when Joseph interpreted the chief cup bearer’s and the chief bread maker’s dream. He was also with him when the chief cup bearer was restored to his office and forgot all about Joseph.
God was with Joseph during those two long years of being forgotten. And He was with Joseph in the interpretation of Pharoh’s dream, his redemption from the prison, and his rise to power. The Lord was shaping Joseph using the circumstances of his situation to bring forth a humble, compassionate and forgiving man that would carry the mantle, the calling that God had placed upon his life. Joseph recognized God at work throughout his life, and that he was being used by God to help others. When Jacob died and Joseph’s brothers were concerned that Joseph would now take his revenge on them, Joseph said these words in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it to for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.”
Are you in a difficult place right now? As a believer in relationship with the Living God, He is with you, working with your circumstances. Are you seeing the blessings in your situation? Are you trusting Him right where you are? He is also working in you and transforming you to carry the calling He has for you, the calling that will impact others’ lives. He works ALL THINGS for good, for those who are called according to His purpose because He foreknew you and predestined you to be transform using your life circumstances, into the image of one of His children, a brother or sister to Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29 paraphrased).
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