Read Proverbs 3:4-6 (NIV) Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Genesis 39:2-6 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 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. 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. 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.
Genesis 19-23 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 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, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 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. 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.
Although Joseph had been suddenly yanked out of the perfect life he had been living, he continued to trust in and submit to God and God showed up. God did not free Joseph from the circumstances he was in, nor did He wave His hand and fix everything the way I’m sure Joseph wished He would. As a matter of fact, even though Joseph was trying to make the best of it and do everything right, someone betrayed him once again. Not only is he still a slave, now he is a slave in prison!
But God was with Joseph in the land of Egypt. So how did God use Joseph’s circumstances early in his ordeals? God blessed the places and the people around Joseph while he continued to grow in “favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”
Wherever you are in life, would you allow God to use you as a blessing even through your difficulties or undeserved heartaches? Even if God doesn’t wave His hand over you and make it all go away, would you trust in and submit to your loving Father? You too can grow in “favor and a good name in the sight of God and man”. Maybe God is preparing you for something if you’re willing to say yes – yes to go!
