9/25/21

 Joseph Imprisoned

            And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison.  But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.  The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

Genesis 39:20-23

            Joseph was thrown into prison for a crime that he did not commit.  Actually, he was thrown into prison because he would not betray his master by sleeping with his master’s wife when she hit on him.  He was imprisoned because of his righteousness and integrity.  While he was in jail, as a prisoner, he was elevated to a position of authority because God was with him and blessed in whatever he did.

            I find this an incredibly hard reality to hold in my mind.  Joseph is clearly favored by God and everything that he does carries the blessing of the Almighty…and he has been betrayed, sold into slavery and then thrown into an ancient prison where people go to die.  God’s favor and blessings are real, but his life is about as bad as it could get.  Isn’t God’s favor supposed to make our lives better?  Would not God being on our side and making everything that we work on successful translate into being more than an imprisoned slave?  When I think of God’s favor I think of David and Solomon and Abraham, people who are rich and powerful and successful.  Clearly there is another application of God’s blessings and they do not strike me as very fun.

            We know that the story does not end there and, in fact, Joseph ends up with money and authority and saves the lives of entire nations.  But in this moment he had to be confused.  He was faithful and God was with him and he was a penniless prisoner whose greatest hope in life was to be released in order to go back into slavery.

            How do we know if we are on the right path?  Did Joseph know that he was in prison because God was pleased with him or did he think it was because God was angry with him or did he think God cared at all? 

            How do we know?  Do we look at how much money we have?  That does not seem consistent with scripture.  Do we look at how much influence we have?  There are lots of people with lots of influence who are clearly not following Jesus.  Do we look at the number of friends we have?  I hope not for my life as a special needs parent has moved me out of most of those relationships.  Do we look inside and see if we have peace and feel connected to God?  I mostly feel confused and panicky…in a peaceful/God will provide/kind of way.

            When I stop and pray, I generally find myself asking about my job and what I am supposed to be doing with my life.  What God says back the most clearly is, “Write!”  To which I respond, “I am writing!  And where is that getting me?”  I feel very much like Joseph in prison: trying to be faithful without much to show for it.

            Maybe my path will continue to follow Joseph’s.  Maybe my big break will come some day and all the power and influence will be available to help thousands of people who are suffering.  Maybe my path will be different and I will continue hopping into different jobs in order to serve my son’s needs during the different seasons of his life.  Maybe there is a third option out there that will become apparent when the time is right.

            For now we wait.  And we strive to be faithful in our circumstances.  And we hope that God will bless the tasks that we put our hands and our minds to.  And we live in the confusion…because God resides in that place too.

A moment to reflect:

How do you feel confused by your life?