"I Turned Twenty One In Prison"......

Don't be alarmed by the title of the blog today. It comes from an old Merle Haggard song, "Momma Tried".
But it does carry a thought that I taught on at last nights Bible study.
In Genesis, we read the story of Joseph.
Young guy.
Bright Future.
Didn't have the best people skills though and it cost him.
Older brothers do not take a liking to bratty younger brothers.
In Joseph's case, his brothers wanted to kill him.
Literally....
They were fed up with his dreams and telling them that they would one day fall down and worship him.
Throw in the fact that he was their father's favorite and always wore this psychedelic colored coat given to him by his father, and you got the makings of a disaster.
Instead of killing Joseph, they sold him into slavery (ever the capitalist they were).

Joseph is taken to Egypt where he quickly works his way up the slave ranks and lands a primo job with a government official named Potiphar. Well, ol' Potiphar and his wife were in dire need of marriage counseling because things had cooled between the two of them. Mrs. Potiphar had roaming eyes and here in her own house, day after day, was this handsome young Hebrew slave a.k.a. as Joseph.

She put the moves on Joseph, but to her dismay, he did not move back.
Perfume....
New hair do....
Even blatantly to the point, Mrs. Potiphar told Joseph that she wanted to have sex with him.
"Nooooo! I wouldn't do that to my master, he's been good to me."
Don't you just hate a moral man who refused the advances of a woman?
To make a long story short, Mrs. Potiphar cries, "Rape!"
Joseph flees for his life.
She grabs his coat and then concocts this hooey-balooey story about this brutish Hebrew who tried to have his way with her. (Sniff, sniff, sob, sob...it was terrible).
Bottom line, even the law firm of Dewy, Cheatem and Howe could not save ol' Joseph.
Jail time, buddy.

In Genesis 39:21 we read an interesting verse.
But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

The Lord was with Joseph.
"Yeah, but Joseph was in jail."
The Lord was with Joseph.
"But it was jail!"
The Lord was with Joseph.
Do you think Joseph was upset? I mean after all, he has been wrongly accused. He is an innocent man.
It is the most terrible of all terrible situations, yet in the midst of everything, "The LORD was with Joseph."
I need to remember this the next time I find myself in situations that are not the way I would want them to be.
When I am wrongly accused or people are attacking me. The LORD is with me. My walk with Him is not predicated on how great my life is. It is built on the fact that no matter what comes my way, I will not shrink back or give up. Why? Because the LORD is with me.

Perhaps you are in a similar situation today.
You feel as though everyone has deserted you and you stand alone in whatever you are facing.
Do not look to your feelings, but remember this......
If you are a child of God....
If you have been saved.....
Then the LORD is with you.

What did God do for Joseph in the middle of this nightmare?
He (God) showed him mercy and gave him favor with the people around him.
This gift from God made life in prison bearable.
It was also preparing Joseph to occupy a larger role in a position God was going to place him in later.

Today! The LORD is with you....

God on you...
mb