Life at the Bottom

"But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper." -Genesis 39.21-23

This is a low point in Joseph's life. Maybe not the lowest, after all he was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his own brothers; but no doubt he was feeling depressed and discouraged here. He had worked hard and honestly. He had done the right thing by refusing the advances of his master's wife. And yet now he finds himself in jail because of a false accusation. He could have blamed God, and refused to serve Him any longer. But that isn't the reaction we see.

God is with Joseph, and He extends kindness to him, giving him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. Had Joseph rejected God and turned from Him, that statement wouldn't be in the Bible. Had Joseph given up, and allowed the depression and discouragement to consume him, the story would have ended there, but it doesn't. The jailer puts Joseph in charge of the prison, and whatever he does, even in jail, prospers, because God is with him.

Men, sometimes life doesn't work out. We work hard and do everything right, but even then we still seem to fail. Nothing we try works out, and we end up at the bottom. What do we do in that moment? Do we continue to trust God and faithfully serve Him? Or do we turn our backs on Him because our plans didn't work out?

We need to begin to look at our lives as part of the bigger story. Sometimes the bottom is the only place we can clearly hear from God. Sometimes we need to hit the bottom before we can experience the healing that needs to be accomplished. Sometimes the bottom is the only place we can begin to learn to trust God. When we hit the bottom there are no other distractions to keep us from hearing from God. Yes, you can choose to bury it with alcohol or drugs, but that would be turning from God, not trusting in Him.

Had Joseph turned his back on God, a lot of people would have been in a lot of trouble in the not so distant future. God took Joseph to the bottom because it ideally placed him to carry out his part in the bigger story. Men, if we give up at the bottom what great things are we missing out on?

Men, sometimes God has to take us to the bottom to get us ready for our most crucial role in His story. How do you live life at the bottom?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor