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

Falsely Accused

"When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called to the men of her household and said to them, 'See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.'... Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, 'This is what your slave did to me,' his anger burned. So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail." -Genesis 39.13-15, 19-20

The man was innocent and blameless. But the woman was rejected and shamed. She devised a plan to get back at him. If he wouldn't give in to her, she would ruin his life. When she had grabbed hold of his cloak he shed it in order to get away, and she would use that to undo him. She devises a lie, tells her husband who believes her, and Joseph is arrested and thrown in jail. An innocent man was punished and the guilty party got away with everything.

We live in a world where things like this happen everyday. The innocent suffer while the corrupt advance. The blameless are accused and the guilty escape justice. The world is full of false accusations. I've been apart of one. In the last church there was a guy who wanted a leadership role, but was not capable of handling it. Since he couldn't have what he wanted he began to spread rumors about the leaders in the church, myself included. Fortunately, we were able to deal with it before any serious damage was done, but the lies he had spread did leave a mess to be cleaned up.

Men, you cannot stop anyone from spreading a rumor about you, but you can live in such a way the discredits it from the beginning. Joseph's situation was a little different. He was a slave, and his master's wife made an accusation against him. His master had to do something in order to save face, but I'm guessing the wife had a history of behavior like this, and Potiphar knew it, because Joseph isn't put to death.

Men, what does your life look like? If someone spread a rumor that you were stealing money from your work, are you living with integrity where people would say, "There's no way he would ever do that. I know him, and that's not who he is." Or would their response be, "Doesn't surprise me, he always did seem kind of shady." The way you live can kill a rumor because the people who hear it will know the character of the one who is being spoken about.

How are you living? Would a false accusation stand against you? Or would it be smothered as soon as it was spoken?

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

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

When All Else Fails

"She caught him by his garment, saying, 'Lie with me!' And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside." -Genesis 39.12-13

The trap has been sprung. Joseph has been dodging attacks for a while now, but saying "No" has only gotten him so far. He's resisted but now a well laid trap threatens to destroy him. Joseph has done everything he can do, and when all else fails, he runs for it.

Men, when all else fails, our best option, really the only option left, is to run for it. Get out of there, and live to fight another day. There is no sense wasting your life because you got taken out in an ambush. When you're all alone and about to be overwhelmed, book it out of there. There is no shame in running away from a situation like this.

Joseph ran, and it kept him pure, innocent, and upright. No one could make a truthful accusation against him. If you find yourself in a similar situation, run for it.

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

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Caution

"Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside." -Genesis 39.11

The day began like every other day, Joseph shows up on the job site for work. But today something is different, there is no one else there. Joseph enters the house, and aside from his master's wife, he is the only one there. There is no way he could have known this, and there is no way he could have known what was about to happen, but from this story we learn a very important lesson. Let us live with caution.

When I use the word caution I don't mean be a germaphobe who never leaves his apartment. I mean keep your guard up. Joseph walked right into a trap and ends up in prison as we'll see shortly. How many men have fallen into similar traps because they have dropped their guard? How many men have been falsely accused, and their integrity shattered simply because they allowed themselves to be in the wrong situation?

Men, live with cation. The enemy wants to take you out. You, as a man striving after God, are among his primary targets. He wants to take you out, and when you drop your guard and walk right into the trap that he has set you make his job all too easy. And remember, it isn't about what happens, but what people think and say happened.

Don't let yourself be caught in a trap. Make up your mind about the rules you'll live by and don't compromise on them ever. I won't ride in an elevator or car alone with a woman who isn't my wife or other family member. That way no one can accuse me of anything. I won't handle money from the church in any capacity so that no one can accuse me of improper use of church funds, or worse, stealing it. The more you keep your guard up, the less vulnerable you are.

We have a very real enemy who has countless traps laid to take us out. Be a survivor, not a statistic. Live with caution.

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

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Resistance

"Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, 'Lie with me.' But he refused and said to his master’s wife, 'Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?' As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her." -Genesis 39.6b-10

Joseph is doing well, and on top of that we learn that he was a decent looking fellow. After a while Potiphar's wife begins to take notice. At first, back when he was an entry level servant, she probably wouldn't even give him the time of day. But now, even though he is still a servant, he has prestige and power, and so she begins to take notice of him. Gradually her desires begin to get the best of her, and she begins to try and seduce Joseph into an affair. He doesn't give in, but as he is living in God's will, he is meeting resistance.

When we live in the center of God's will, we are blessed, along with the people around us. Our enemy hates this. He hates when we live obediently to God, and he hates when we enjoy any goodness from God. And so he is going to do anything he can to get us out of God's will so that the blessings cease. His purpose is to throw resistance at us from every angle, trying to get us to stumble.

Men, we will face resistance. Whenever we set out to do the right thing there will be those who oppose us. When we work to bring good to others there will be those who oppose us. Whenever we begin to stand out as leaders, there will be those who try and bring us down.

Resistance comes in many ways. Here in Genesis 39 it's with sex. It could be a bribe, or some opportunity to compromise your integrity. But be assured resistance will find you, and it will stand in your way. Stand firm against it. Joseph to his master's wife over and over and over again. She constantly tried to persuade him, and he never gave in. Let us stand firm against resistance as Joseph did.

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

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Not the Only One

"It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate." -Genesis 39.5-6a

When God made His covenant with Abraham, He promised that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Ultimately He was referring to salvation which would come from Jesus, one of Abraham's descendants. But God loves to go above and beyond. He doesn't simply bless of with salvation to rescue us from sin and give us new life, though that in itself is so much more than we deserve. God goes above and beyond and blesses our live in many ways. And here, in the early verses of Genesis 39, we see God beginning to fulfill part of the promise to Abraham.

Joseph is right where God wants him. He is working hard in the center of God's will and God is blessing him and making him successful with all he does. He is the head servant, the overseer of the house, of Potiphar. And we see that God blesses Potiphar because of Joseph.

Men, when we are in the center of God's will, we are not the only ones affected. When we are obedient to God, and doing what He calls us to do, those around us are impacted as well. When God blesses us and makes us successful, it results in blessings for those around us as well.

Who is being affected by your life? How are they being affected? If those around you are being blessed because of you, that's a sign that you are in the center of God's will. And if your life is not doing anything to make the lives of those around you better, you may need to take a moment and see why that is. You may need to draw closer to God, and seek His direction for your life again.

When we do our best and live in the center of God's will, we are not the only ones to see the positive results.

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

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Success in the Center

"The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge." -Genesis 39.2-4

Joseph, the father's favorite son, and his brother's most despised sibling, has ended up in Egypt. He was sold as a slave and bought by Potiphar, the captain of the guard. And even as a slave in a foreign country, God is still with Joseph. He blesses him and makes him successful. God causes all that he does to prosper, and Joseph finds favor in the sight of his master. He goes from a regular servant, to the one in charge of the house. God was with him, and gave him success.

God had a plan for Joseph, he was part of the covenant that had been established with Abraham. I have no doubt that Joseph worked hard for Potiphar. I'm sure he did his best with every task he undertook. And since Joseph was at the center of God's plan, though he probably didn't know it yet, God gave him success in all that he did.

I've had several situations in the past that have not felt like everything I did prospered, and looking back I know I was in the center of God's will because I can see how it has helped mold me more into Christlikeness. But as I look back I see the aspects of each of those times where God did give me success. The things I directly undertook He blessed. Currently in my situation I have found success in what I'm doing. God has given me favor and helped me to do well.

Men, if we are in the center of God's will, we will find success. The situations we find ourselves in may not be ideal, but they may be necessary to get us into position for God's great work for our lives. And if we will commit ourselves to do the best we can where we are, working hard, and staying in the center of God's will, He will give success to all we do. We might not see it at first, like I didn't, but looking back one day, we'll be able to see how God gave us success.

When we are in the center of God's will, we have success in all we do.

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

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor