Genesis 39:1-2
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
What does it mean to prosper? Over the ages people have been obsessed with obtaining prosperity. The problem is that prosperity is an ill-defined objective. It seems to be that “just a little bit more” will make them feel prosperous. Then they see someone with more than they have. Suddenly their prosperity disappears and they now must strive to get more and thus make them feel prosperous. No matter how often this is repeated they are not satisfied.
I once had unrestricted access into the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise. I started a weekly Bible Study with some of the inmates. The group included men who had been sentenced for all sorts of offenses, including murder. The thing that set these men apart from other prisoners is that they had found Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and were now prospering within the walls of this prison. More than once I heard some of them rejoice that they felt more free inside the walls with Christ than outside without knowing Him as the Lord of their life.
In today’s Scripture, Joseph had been betrayed by his own brothers. They sold him into slavery and thought that he was out of their lives for good. In Egypt, Joseph was sold to the Captain of the Guard . . . a man named Potiphar. It would have been easy for Joseph to have a pity party. Instead, he prospered in Potiphar’s house as a slave.
Joseph prospered in every situation because he kept his eyes on the Lord. It was not what he had that made him prosperous, but who had him. The Lord made him prosper. How about you? Are you prospering because you belong to the Lord?
Blessings dear hearts. Trust the Lord completely, prosper where you are and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil