While other people may leave us in our time of need the Lord is always faithful. Joseph had been falsely accused of rape and was in prison, but the Lord remained faithful.
19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. 20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. [1] Genesis 39:19-23.
At first glance, it may look like God has totally abandoned Joseph. But Joseph could have been executed for his alleged crime, instead he is only imprisoned. As the story proceeds it becomes clear that God is faithful in His own way and timing. What does it mean to be faithful? In this context it means Hebrews 4:14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.. The Lord was faithful to Joseph and He is faithful to us. Joseph made the best of his situation and as a result he was a favorite of the prison warden. Psalm 37:3 reminds us of this when the writer says, 3 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. [2]
When we dwell on God’s faithfulness and let it nourish our hearts, our faith and trust in Him grow. When we focus on doing good things, our thoughts won’t stay parked on the changes we don’t like. Instead of allowing our minds to wish things were like they used to be or feeling discouraged or upset over a hard season of life, we can place our trust in Him and live with peace and joy, not stress and distress. This is what Joseph did. Psalm 37:4 then says, “4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. [3]
Being delighted with God means our hearts find peace and fulfillment in Him, regardless of our season of life or the changes we’re facing. When we look back to see how He has been faithful and trustworthy in the past, which delights us, we can better trust He will be faithful now and in the future, too.
God has divinely allowed every season of our life with His sovereign wisdom, and those seasons may include some type of hard change. Being in prison like Joseph was not an easy season. We can fight change, or we can trust that God has a plan and purpose for it. We can choose to allow our trust in His faithfulness to be the foundation for joyful living.
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https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/hope-when-falsely-accused
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.