“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.” (Genesis 39:19-20)
Do you have an unspoken contract with God? “God, I’ll serve you the best I possibly can. In exchange, you’ll bless me with good relationships, general success, and freedom from very much icky stuff. You’ll make sure nobody does anything really bad to me. And I’ll keep telling people how great you are. Deal?”
Joseph did a hard thing. He chose to serve God even after being betrayed by his family, sold to slave traders, and abandoned in a foreign country. He could have rejected God at that moment for letting him suffer like that, but he didn’t. Instead, Joseph obeyed, and God blessed him for a while. Joseph told people all about the God of the Hebrews.
But what is Joseph’s big reward for refusing to do evil with Potiphar’s wife? Does God strike her dead? Vindicate Joseph’s rep? Send in the calvary to get him out of town? Nope. Joseph goes to jail. The king’s prison. The dungeon. For years. Would a good God let that happen to a good person like Joseph?
Think: Are you ever guilty of judging God’s character based on today’s circumstances? Do hard days mean that God is less “with you” than on good days? Does God ever promise only good days for Jesus-followers on this side of heaven? Why not?
Pray: Ask God for the wisdom and faith not to judge his goodness based on the amount of pain in your life.
Do: Come back for tomorrow’s devo.