What It Can Look Like When God is With You . . .

The bible introduces us to a very counterintuitive idea in a section of Joseph’s story that chronicles his brush with the wife of a royal official (Genesis 39).  It is there that the bible tells us that the Lord was with Joseph, and that he made him a successful man, partly by placing him where his talents could be put on display and prospered. Joseph would become a servant in the house of Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers. While serving Potiphar’s household, God’s presence with Joseph was noticeable by others – as were his talents (Genesis 39:1-3).  On its face, that is not counterintuitive. For example, you might expect that when the bible describes a person as having God with them that they would be successful, and perhaps even divinely conspicuous because of that supernatural relationship.  But as the chapter unfolds, Joseph is falsely accused of sexual impropriety by Potiphar’s wife after he repeatedly spurns her lewd advances. A charge like that is bad enough, since once made, so few people need any evidence to believe it, and even if such deeds are proven untrue, a person’s moral credibility is rarely fully restored. Potiphar, in his apparent blindness, believed  his wife. As you might imagine, he was not happy. So, off to prison Joseph went while the treacherous, lying, and Machiavellian wife remained in the comfortable home of a royal official catered with servants. That seems counterintuitive relative to a statement that "God is with you and prospering you!" It doesn’t stop there. Once in prison, the bible continues to describe God as being with Joseph. Not only that, but it adds that God showed Joseph steadfast love (Genesis 39:19-23)! But how can that be love you ask? After all, he is in prison without the comfort of freedom. Instead, God gives him more responsibility and raises him once again to higher status – but he is still in a prison.  The fact is that God showed Joseph love by bringing success to his efforts. But don’t think that such success was solely for the enjoyment of the servant he loved. It was to advance a plan that would also bring love to many others for whom God had (and has) love (Hebrews 11:40).  God loved Joseph and made him part of that regal history!

It is important to note that God’s purposes, his plans, his motives, and even his love – maybe especially his love – do not always appear to make immediate sense. 

Consider what the writer of Hebrews expressed about others for whom God loved. He wrote that they were, “stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth (Hebrews 11:37-38).” A trust that God loved them, and that he would keep them, and that he would ultimately reward them, empowered them to live sacrificially in the midst of pains and terrors.

God’s greatest love for us is expressed in his death on a cross, and our enjoyment of that love will be at its fullest as we are united completely with him when he makes all things new (Isaiah 45:17, Revelation 21:5).