Dreaming With Joseph: 7 Day Devotional On GreatnessSample

Trouble rears its ugly head once again in Joseph’s story. As he was walking in the presence of God, fulfilling his duties, the temptation of lust tried to veer him off course.

Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and readers get the sense that she was a woman who always got what she wanted. But Joseph stayed firm. He wanted to honor both his earthly master and God by not falling into sin with her. Yet she was persistent. It says day after day she came to Joseph tempting him, but still, he refused.

Eventually, her patience ran out. Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph one day and was adamant that she would get what she wanted. Joseph was equally determined not to give it to her so he ran away, leaving his cloak in her hands. In response, she wove a story about Joseph trying to take advantage of her, and the cloak was all the evidence they needed.

Innocent and silent once again, Joseph’s life is apparently destroyed as he is thrown into prison. 

This story presents us with an uncomfortable truth. Bad things can still happen to us even when we are obeying the will of God. Joseph was directly where God wanted him to be, doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. He was obedient, honorable and regularly defeating temptation. Yet despite all of that, something terrible came into his life.

Yesterday we saw that the presence of God also brings the blessings of God. But it’s also important to understand that God’s presence does not mean we will be free of suffering. From Abraham to Jesus, the Bible teaches us over and over again that sometimes the most painful place to be is in the will of God.

So what should we do? 

Follow God anyways. 

No matter how painful the situation may be, when we are in God’s will and presence we can have hope that He will see us through. As in Joseph’s story, even the most unfortunate circumstances can be turned into good.

Takeaway: The safest and most dangerous place we can be is in the presence of God.