“Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.” [1]
An old saw asserts, “Whom God would use greatly, He wounds deeply.” This saying assuredly applies to Joseph, favoured son of Jacob. In one of the Psalms, the Psalmist reviews Joseph’s life when he writes,
“[The LORD] had sent a man ahead of [Israel],
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the LORD tested him.”
[PSALM 105:17-19]
Whenever we think of Joseph, few of us remember the pain he experienced in his youth. We remember that Joseph was the second most powerful individual within the sole superpower of that ancient day. We remember that he was an instrument in the hand of the LORD God to save his family. We remember the great blessings God bestowed on Joseph. These are the things we remember, though we tend to neglect the path of suffering he was forced to tread; we ignore the pain he suffered while moving toward the heady days of power and authority.
Few people are ever permitted to make a lasting impact on this world without experiencing suffering, without experiencing opposition, without experiencing disappointment. The path to greatness lies through the slough of despair, through the castle of suffering, or through the forest of shattered dreams. Those who suffer greatly are able to serve selflessly. They have compassion on others and seek to assist them to avoid the injuries that seem to accompany the journey through life each of us must make.
As he opens his Second Letter to the saints in Corinth, the Apostle Paul speaks of the trials the missionaries had experienced. He wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer…
“We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” [2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-6, 8-10].
I know that among those to whom I speak are some who feel as if they are imprisoned by circumstances. You’ve dedicated yourself to serving the Lord, and it seems as if all your desires have been transformed into bonds which restrict you, binding you and keeping you from fulfilling what you believe to be the will of God for your life. Your path has grown very narrow, and though there is no turning back, the way forward seems almost impassable. You peer intently into the future, and it is so dark that even seeing the shapes of what lies in your path is a hopeless task. Even breathing has grown tedious, and exhaustion seems to be your constant companion. You’ve prayed for relief, and it seems as if your prayers rise no higher than the ceiling. You lift your eyes to heaven, and all your see are dark clouds that obscure the light you know still shines brightly somewhere behind the obscuring veil.
If this describes you, then the message I have this day is meant especially for you. It is a message that urges you to look beyond the long confinement you are experiencing, allowing yourself to look by faith at what lies beyond the moment. In order to pull back the veil between what is and what shall be accomplished through your life, we will need to look at the life of one who suffered greatly for what seemed to be no reason other than the hatred of those whom he loved and on whom he depended.
THE LONG JOURNEY TO PRISON — It is a sordid story that is provided in the Word of God. Let’s engage in a quick review so that each one is on the same page. To ensure that we fully understand what God has done, and what He still is doing in our own lives, we need to look at Joseph’s early days and what brought him to Pharaoh’s prison. You will recall that Joseph was his father’s favourite son. Jacob had been deceived into marrying Leah, a woman in whom he had little interest other than the fact that she was the sister of Rachel, the one whom Jacob loved. Rachel was unable to bear children, until God graciously intervened to give her a child. Consequently, Jacob, now known as Israel, loved this child, and seemed to dote on him more than all his brothers or sisters. The Word of God informs Bible readers, “Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age” [GENESIS 37:3a].
As evidence of Israel’s favouritism of Joseph, Israel made the lad “a robe of many colours” [see GENESIS 37:3b]. This was a richly embroidered tunic, a special garment that would designate his favoured status. His favoured status was an irritant to his brothers. The brothers responded as we would expect anyone to respond to favouritism in the family; the Bible says of them, “When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him” [GENESIS 37:4].
Their anger toward Joseph was only intensified when God sent the younger lad a dream. “Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, ‘Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.’ His brothers said to him, ‘Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?’ So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words” [GENESIS 37:5-8].
The anger turned to white-hot rage when Joseph had yet another dream. Again the Word of God relates what was happening. “Then [Joseph] dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, ‘Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?’ And his brothers were jealous of him” [GENESIS 37:9-11a]. This dream caused even his father to push back against him, but Israel still wondered about what Joseph had dreamed. So, we read that “his father kept the saying in mind” [GENESIS 37: 11b].
A day came when the brothers of Joseph pastured the family flocks at some distance from where the family resided. Israel had kept his youngest son at home, perhaps out of an abundance of caution. He had to have recognised the jealousy that was pushing the other brothers into white-hot rage. Nevertheless, Israel sent his younger son to see how his brothers were faring as they pastured the flocks. Nearing the area where the flocks were being tended, Joseph’s brothers saw him from a distance, and they hatched a nefarious plot to put an end to the favoured son.
The Bible is quite open about what happened next. “[The brothers] saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ And Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it” [GENESIS 37:18-24].
To this point, the youngest brother has simply been humiliated, an event that is not unheard of in any family. Older siblings seem often to be programmed to taunt, even to humiliate, younger siblings. However, this incident was about to take an ominous turn. Reuben was thinking that he would rescue his younger brother, but for some reason he left the group while they sat down to eat. It was during that time that an opportunity to rid themselves of the constant irritant of the younger brother presented itself.
“They sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt” [GENESIS 37:25-28].
Rather than killing their brother, the boys would sell him into slavery. The lad would be transported to Egypt where he would live out his days in the misery of slavery, and the boys would earn a little money in the process. They could claim innocence. After all, they didn’t kill their brother; they just sold him into slavery. They would consider themselves guiltless, and they would be forever free of the irritant of a brother who imagined that he spoke for God.
Joseph was transported to Egypt where he was sold as a slave to an Egyptian official. Potiphar was the captain of the guard, and he saw the need of another slave to serve in his house. If Joseph thought his life was hard now, just wait to see what was coming next.
In Potiphar’s house, Joseph was blessed by God. The divine text informs us, “The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate” [GENESIS 39:2-6a].
Perhaps you imagine that being reliable and conscientious about the duties you are assigned are unimportant, but it you focus on doing what is assigned, and doing the task well, God will ensure that you are blessed. We are taught in the Word, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” [1 CORINTHIANS 10:31].
This concept of honouring God with one’s labour is a theme in the Word of God. Elsewhere, Paul has written, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” [COLOSSIANS 3:17]. And again we read the promise of God, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” [COLOSSIANS 3:23-24].
Perhaps because he was increasingly visible about the house, Joseph came to the attention of Mrs. Potiphar. She was a liberated woman, with an overly active sexual appetite. I suppose she might qualify as what we refer to as “a cougar.” Again, the Bible describes the situation as it developed. “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?’ And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
“But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house” [GENESIS 39:6-13].
This woman was determined that she would have her way with Joseph. It is likely that her husband was a eunuch, which may account for her sexual aggression. However, when she accosted Joseph, he did the Hebrew two-step and ran as though his life depended on getting away. Certainly, his honour and his testimony depended upon him fleeing from temptation.
Unfortunately for Joseph, this wasn’t the end of the matter. The Word continues by detailing what occurred next. “As soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, ‘See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.’ Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, ‘The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house’” [GENESIS 39:13-18].
Whether to cover her own sinful proclivity toward adultery or whether she was fearful that she would be exposed as an adulteress should Joseph inform her husband of what happened, she lied. Perhaps it is more likely that she concocted the tale that she was a victim of an attempted rape because she was determined that no young slave would dare scorn her advances. When she told her husband, he was rightly angry. Again, we read in the account provided in the Word of God, “As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, ‘This is the way your servant treated me,’ his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison” [GENESIS 39:19-20]. It does seem probable that Potiphar was not fully convinced of the veracity of her account because he didn’t have Joseph executed, but rather settled on incarcerating Joseph. Now we have the story of how Joseph moved from being the favoured son of the patriarch Israel to brutal imprisonment in Egypt.
There are people to whom I am speaking today who are imprisoned by circumstances that were not of your own making. Someone lied about you, and it has injured your standing in the eyes of others, even those you imagined were friends. Perhaps these attacks cost you opportunities for advancement, or your ability to provide for your family has been negatively impacted. Perhaps your imprisonment is the result of a trusted friend or even a family member betraying your love. Consequently, you are struggling against bitterness—and it is easy to justify your bitterness. However, you know that the impact of harbouring a bitter spirit is a form of bondage, a type of imprisonment. Bitterness will create a prison that is more secure than any prison built of stone and steel. It is possible that the imprisonment now holding you captive is the result of being mistreated by people who had a measure of power over your life and they have sought to harm you, if not fiscally, then spiritually.
The point is, if you are imprisoned, you can give up and concede whatever opportunities to honour God have now become impossible in your circumstances, or you can determine that you will honour Him regardless of your present circumstances. If your situation is one in which you excuse your inability to do all that you want “under the circumstances,” get out from under the circumstances! Determine that because your faith is in the Risen Saviour, you will serve Him. Determine that you will take Christ at His Word and confess with the Psalmist,
“I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!”
[PSALM 31:14-15]
I urge you who feel you are now held in prison, seek to honour God where you are. You honour God as you stand firm and as you walk with Him in the path He has appointed.
THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD WITH JOSEPH — “The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed” [GENESIS 39:23]. God was with Joseph as a boy in his father’s house. The LORD was revealing to the young lad in broad sweeps some of what would take place in days to come and how Joseph would be a vessel for the glory of LORD. The LORD was with Joseph during his days of slavery to Potiphar; God was even with Joseph as the wife of Potiphar attempted to seduce him. Now, we learn that the LORD was with Joseph in prison.
The presence of the Lord is not determined by where we are, but by who we are! If we are known to the Lord, He is with us. God’s blessings are not restricted by our circumstances. God’s love for His twice-born child is eternal. Listen to me! This is a truth to hold onto because you are a Christian. It does not matter where you end up, if the Lord has His hand on you, you stand out. Did you hear that? If the Lord has His hand on you, it does not matter where you end up, you stand out.
You may imagine as you read this account that Joseph was in prison because Potiphar wanted to punish him. However, as you read, you become aware that Joseph was in prison because God wanted to promote him. Potiphar’s punishment was God’s promotion. God would use this time of confinement as a time of refinement. To prepare him for leadership, God sent Joseph to the lockup. Nevertheless, Joseph might well have wondered what sort of love would send him into slavery and then into prison.
Just so, you may question how a God of love could permit you to experience the restrictions that bound your life. You may wonder how a loving Father could permit His child to know hardship, to know such trials as you have experienced. When you look at people who have grown up in a home where the parents never corrected the child, where they didn’t hear the word “No!” or where there were no boundaries, you know that the child will have a rude awakening when parental protections are removed and the child is compelled to enter into the world. Why would you think that God would be like that parent?
Consider what is written to people who were experiencing real boundaries. The Jewish believers of the diaspora were suffering. The writer of the Letter to Hebrew Christians testified that some of his readers had been “publicly exposed to reproach and affliction,” and he indicates that all had witnessed such acts against those who believed. Some had been imprisoned, some had seen their property plundered [see HEBREWS 10:32-34]. All had witnessed such acts.
To encourage these suffering followers of the Risen Saviour, he urges them to see what was happening as God’s discipline. We think of discipline as punishment. When training to be a warrior, we experienced deprivation and hardship. Sleep was insufficient and the constant exercise and training was rigorous. However, this was not punishment—it was preparation for what we would face. To be known as a warrior, discipline was necessary. Such discipline would not be obtained through a life of comfort and ease.
With that in mind, consider what the writer of this Letter to Hebrew Christians says. “Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.’
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent” [HEBREWS 12:5-17a].
Perhaps you have heard the old saw that the caged bird sings the sweetest song. Consider how this might be true in the life of the child of God. Throughout my days of service before the Lord, I have witnessed some of God’s choicest saints who have been severely restricted by health issues, prohibited from what they thought was necessary to excel because they suffered financial restrictions, kept from what they believed would have been powerful service by opposition. I must remind myself that we are often unable to see what the Lord is doing behind the scenes.
While serving in the city of San Francisco, a gracious woman named Sue Dollin was a member of the congregation. I still recall the day Sister Sue came to me bemoaning her lack of opportunity to serve as she had at one time. She was elderly when I knew her, and the restrictions that often attend advanced age had beset her life. “Brother Mike,” she said, “I so want to serve as I once did. I worked with the little children and taught them the Word of God. Now, their shrill little voices hurt my ears and I can’t hear what they are saying. I so want to serve, but I guess I can’t do anything but pray.”
Can’t do anything but pray! That dear saint of God devoted herself to prayer. It remains to be seen how many souls are in the Kingdom of God through the prayers of Sue Dollin. She constantly prayed for Pastor Higgs and for those who laboured visibly in the church. I suspect that I was able to accomplish much of what I did in that assembly through of the prayers of Mrs. Dollin. How powerful her prayers were! Focused on what once was, that dear woman failed to see what God was now doing through her prayers.
I’ve spoken at other times of the revival in the British Isles sparked through the ministry of Dwight L. Moody. [2] You may recall how according to Moody’s testimony, his presence in Great Britain seemed to be a matter of serendipity. However, what seemed to have no rational explanation had a divine hand behind all that took place. After the days of revival, Mr. Moody discovered that a bed-ridden woman had devoted herself to prayer, asking the Lord of grace and glory to send Mr. Moody to Great Britain. She had prayed for days, asking the Father to do this one thing, and God had answered by sending Mr. Moody. One woman, imprisoned by her infirmity, had reached out to the sacred precincts of Heaven, and God heard! The restrictions bounding your life do not define who you are or the power you have when you commit yourself to serving the Living God.
Among you who listen are some who undoubtedly feel as though you are imprisoned. You feel as though the boundaries of your life have closed in on you. Health concerns limit the activities you once enjoyed. Don’t I know about such restrictions! Perhaps you imagine that opportunities are lacking, and your desires to do some great thing for the cause of Christ cannot be fulfilled. For some who listen, lack of finances holds your longing for service in check. I ask you to look carefully at what God can accomplish in your life because He is with you even now.
Perhaps you will recall the account God provides of a widow in Zarephath who decided to make a small piece of bread to feed herself and her son, and then they would die because of a famine that was upon the land. As she was going to gather some sticks to build a fire, Elijah asked her to make him a morsel of bread. You will recall that God used that impoverish woman to feed His prophet, miraculously ensuring that she had more than enough to provide for her son and herself. Her impoverishment was not a prison when God was with her [see 1 KINGS 17:8-16].
You may remember reading about another widow who was destitute. Creditors who were owed money which her husband had borrowed, were threatening to sell her two children into slavery. She was unable to pay the debt. She had nothing in her house but a small cruse of oil. You will recall that God was glorified as He provided for her so that she could pay the debt her husband had incurred and deliver her sons from slavery [see 2 KINGS 4:1-7]. God always works in the life of His people even when there is no possible way for them to be delivered.
Another example of divine deliverance that will encourage the people of God is recorded of the time that Peter was imprisoned and awaiting execution. James had already been executed and now Peter was sentenced to death. Despite the dire prospects of the Apostle, God was with him. The Lord sent His angel to deliver His servant and then judged the tyrant who wanted to execute the Apostle to the Jews [see ACTS 12:1-24]. Again, God can make a way when there is no way—and He will make a way for you when there is no way! God specialises in doing this.
Trapped on a ship battered by a violent storm, the Apostle to the Gentiles was not deserted. He testified to the soldiers escorting him to Rome, to the sailors who had lost all hope of rescue, and to the other prisoners who were desperate for deliverance. This was the message of the Apostle. “I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told” [ACTS 27:22-25]. God was with Paul even in the midst of the storm, and the others on board that tiny ship tossed by the raging sea were the beneficiaries of God’s love for His Apostle. I am certain that the same Lord is with you in the midst of your storm, in the midst of the situation that now appears to hold you in an icy grip. You shall see the deliverance of the Lord, and you will glorify His Name when He delivers you. All who know you will glorify the Lord because of His deliverance.
Here is the point that must not be overlooked—your prison may be the only place where God can work to bring glory to His Name through you. As a follower of the Risen Saviour, Christians must learn to allow some time to lapse between our humiliation and God’s exaltation. There is no Resurrection without Good Friday. There is no crown of righteousness without a cross of suffering. Do you believe that?
I’m not suggesting that God cannot do whatever He pleases—He will do what is best for us and what it necessary to bring Him glory. I am suggesting that your present situation that appears to restrict your freedom may have been permitted by a Father Who is too wise to make a mistake and too good to needlessly hurt His child. Despite the evil of his brothers, and despite the manipulations of a scorned seductress, God’s purpose for Joseph prevailed. And His purpose for you will prevail, and you will participate in His perfect work as you allow Him to work.
Even in the darkness of the foul dungeon that now holds you, if you look, you can see the hand of the Living God moving, working in order to set you at liberty and to glorify His Name. That is something worth shouting about! And the world needs to hear your voice glorifying the Lord for His deliverance.
APPLICATIONS FOR LIFE — Sound exposition demands that the applications of the message must be apparent. Whether listing such application in defined order, or whether interweaving these applications throughout the message, the messenger of God must ensure that each message has application for those listening. Accordingly, I want to ensure that we each recognise applications I consider essential from our study of Joseph’s life.
God rules over the world; and He overrules the world. The child of God can say with confidence,
“I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand!”
[PSALM 31:14-15a]
No matter the situation in which Joseph was placed, God was with Him, watching over him to ensure that the will of God was accomplished through the young man. I’m not suggesting that allowing God to control your life is easy—it is not! His direction may place you in situations that are unpleasant, uncomfortable, even dangerous. However, we must know that we serve a God who is too good to needlessly hurt His child and too wise to make a mistake. Followers of the Saviour need to hold to this truth—God rules over the world; and He overrules the world.
Years after his time in prison, Joseph had ascended to the second most powerful position within the most powerful nation then on the earth. He brought his family, the same brothers who had sold him into slavery, to live in Egypt. The family was threatened by a famine, and the boy who had been excluded delivered them from the certainty of their destruction. At last, Israel, the patriarch of the family, died. The remainder of the boys were worried that Joseph would now take out his revenge on them. They deserved to be destroyed. But Joseph had another perspective on all that had happened. Listen to the great man. “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones” [GENESIS 50:19-21a]. Scope in on that divine perspective and see if it might not be true in your situation. “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
We need to develop the capacity of seeing events from God’s perspective. Not every event in our life is a disaster. Though some in this world may attempt to make the assault they launch against us to be personal, we must accept that the Father watches over us, ensuring that we are not destroyed. His purpose is to bring us home in His own time. In every situation, God is working for the good of His people and for His own glory. Amen.
God sometimes has to squeeze us into a place where nobody can get us out but God. Undoubtedly, the prison in which you may be held is an uncomfortable place; but each of us needs to ask who has put us in that dark hold. I’m not suggesting that we do not suffer at times because of our own foolish choices—we do suffer for our own choices sometimes. Perhaps a woman chooses to drink and drive, and the consequences of that choice can be severe. Some boy chooses to feed his mind on pornography, and he will soon learn that the cost is so much higher than he could ever imagine. A girl may choose to cope with her life by using chemicals to alter her mood, setting herself up for a lifetime of struggle to break free of the destructive power she unleashed in her body. Nevertheless, I am suggesting is that there are times that God allows us to be imprisoned and we did nothing to deserve what is happening.
If God has allowed the restriction that presses down on us, then He will deliver in His time and according to His will. What is important to know is that He will do what is necessary to ensure that His purpose is accomplished in your life. Some people are convinced they are destined for something greater than what they now have. Listen to me! Remember that the Master has said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own” [LUKE 16:10-12]?
I’m labouring where the Lord has been pleased to place me. I want to hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” [MATTHEW 25:23]. You fulfil the Master’s purpose where He has placed you, and if it is best, He will care for the promotion.
Until God can develop you in obscurity, you’ll be destroyed by popularity. Joseph was full of himself as a boy in his father’s home.
So often when we find ourselves in the prison wherein God has crowded us, we cry out, “Where is God?” When a child is taken from a home, the parents will often sob out their frustration, asking, “Where is God?” There is an answer to that heart-wrenching cry. God is in the same place where He was when His Son gave His life because of our sin. God is on the throne, directing the affairs of this world, guiding them to a conclusion that will glorify His Name. It is high time that we learn that our duty is to serve God, not to understand Him. He is beyond understanding. His way is not our way.
Here is something I do not want anyone of you to ever forget—If God sends you to a place, He goes with you. Listen to me. Wherever God sends you, He goes too. I hear the LORD God say,
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God.”
[ISAIAH 43:1b-3a]
Didn’t the Saviour promise, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:20b]? Isn’t His Name, “Immanuel,” “God with us?” Haven’t we been reminded by the Psalmist,
“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.”
[PSALM 139:7-10]
Your imprisonment may be prolonged, but God will be with you throughout all the days of incarceration. We are discouraged when our imprisonment lasts for two weeks, or even when we are held for a month or even for several years. Our illness that robs us of energy is prolonged, and we wonder if it will ever end. It seems as if our reputation will never be restored after being savagely ravaged by cold-hearted assassins. Joseph was held either as a slave or as a prisoner for thirteen years. David waited fifteen years after he was crowned King of Israel before he was permitted to reign. God’s work is thorough, and it requires time to be completed in such a way that we are made strong, or in such a way that we are prepared to accomplish some great thing for the cause of Christ. Nevertheless, God does work.
When you are at last released from the prison that has confined you, know that God will receive glory, and you will be divinely equipped to bless others who are suffering in a prison. Isn’t that what we’re taught when Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer” [2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-6]. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL, 2016
[2] Michael Stark, “God Works With Surprising Speed,” (Sermon), 25 October 2019, https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/god-works-with-surprising-speed-michael-stark-sermon-on-revival-243136?page=11&wc=800
