When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.  The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.  Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.  This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.  From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.  So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.”  As you can imagine, Joseph didn’t do what she wanted and it angered her…so she set him up and made it look like he came onto her.

Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her.  So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.  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.  Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.  The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

excerpts from Genesis 39 NLT
(click here to read the complete account.)

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I should tell you that this story didn’t begin here…. Joseph was born into a family of lots of brothers and, of all of them, he was his father’s favorite.  Oh, how Jacob loved him!  It was because of this that his brothers sold him into slavery one day and let his father believe he was dead.  But God was always with Joseph and caused Joseph to succeed in everything he did.  The Lord was always glorified because Joseph pointed it all back to Him.

Joseph could have slept with Potiphar’s wife and Potiphar may never have ever found out about it…but God would have known.  And I am pretty sure that Joseph wouldn’t have been as successful either and all that hardship wouldn’t have been turned into blessing.  Aren’t we tempted every day with something that we could easily get away with…

• No one would know if we didn’t keep that secret that we promised we would…but God does.
• No one would know that we didn’t tell the whole truth on an application and who is really going to check if we finished college…but God does.
• And is that friend calling you to meet her going to know that you don’t really have a doctor’s appointment? Probably not…but God does.  And when it comes time that you really need His supernatural favor, it may not come as easily.

Joseph lived a righteous life. I’m not saying that he was without sin, but his intentions and his heart were always in line with God’s Will.  And because of this, Joseph was eventually saved from prison (Genesis 40) and became a very important person to Pharaoh.

And those brothers that wanted to get rid of him?

Now Joseph was the governor of the land,
the person who sold grain to all its people.
So when Joseph’s brothers arrived,
they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
Genesis 42:6

Be all that you know that God wants you to be. Always stay in His Word and you will know what He expects.  And the Lord will help you succeed in all that you do.

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Do you know Him?  If you are wanting Jesus to be your Savior, then pray this prayer with me.

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I need forgiveness.  I know that Jesus is Your Son and He died to save me.  I ask that You come and be my Lord, to live in my heart and life.  Help me walk through this life the way You want me to.  In Jesus’ name, amen.