Continuing with the journey of Joseph today.
Joseph ends up in Egypt, a slave of a man named Potiphar. He has gone from favorite son to slave. A bit of a downfall.
However the Lord was with Joseph and he rose in his position as slave and was in charge of all of Potiphar's house, appreciated and trusted.
Joseph was making the best of a bad situation, keeping his integrity with the Lord. So he was blessed and lived a good life, right?
Let's see what happens next...
"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.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her." Gen 39:6-10 (NIV)
Eventually Joseph refused her one time too many so she set him up on a false rape charge and Joseph found himself in jail.
Joseph did the right thing, yet was falsely accused and landed in a cell, life went from bad to worse.
And God allowed it.
But remember, this is God's plan not Joseph's. God has a bigger dream for Joseph than he can imagine. And he is allowing events to test Joseph, to refine him, and to prepare him for that dream.
"Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph's character." Psalm 105:19 (NLT)
We cannot choose when God will open our doors, but we certainly can choose how we will behave in the waiting. And perhaps that is what the waiting is all about? Perhaps while we wait for our dreams, God is testing our character as he did Joseph's.
Life looks dim for Joseph, but his story doesn't end there.
And neither does ours.
