The Power of His PresenceSample

The Source of Our Comfort

His life was bright and full of promise. The recipient of his father’s love and affection, his dreams seemed improbable, yet he believed they were possible. He appeared to have everything going for him.

Until suddenly, he did not. In one life-altering moment and because of one unmistakably poor decision, which was outside of his control and due to his brother's intense jealousy, his life took a sudden turn. Now, instead of his life looking promising, his life looked hopeless and grim. Instead of a bright future, it appeared as though he was destined for a tragic ending.

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you’ve looked around and wondered, “What’s happening?” Maybe all looks hopeless. Perhaps you, too, have experienced the pain of others’ decisions or moments outside your control that seem to have changed everything.

For Joseph, this moment occurred when his brothers planned to kill him. They ended up selling him to some traders instead. The traders took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials.

Can you imagine what Joseph was going through, away from his family and far from his homeland? I suspect he felt betrayed, forsaken, and confused.

Yet, the first thing we read after he was sold to Potiphar is, “The Lord was with Joseph.”

Just as He is with you, just as He is with me, regardless of where we are or what we’re going through.

His story doesn’t end there. Because of his master’s wife, who continually made advances upon him until one day she accused him of wrongdoing, Joseph ended up in prison. Yet, we read again that “while Joseph was in prison, the Lord was with him.”

Two verses later, just to make sure it’s clear, we read again: “The Lord was with Joseph…”

At the lowest points of Joseph’s life, when he was forsaken and sold as well as blamed and imprisoned, we repeatedly read that the Lord was with him.

Think about the lowest points of your life. Is your greatest tendency to ask, “Where is God?” If so, find hope in the story of Joseph: God was with you. God is with you.

Just because your circumstances are difficult or confusing does not mean He is not there. In all of our trials, disappointments, and sorrows, when things aren’t going the way we envisioned or thought they would go, find comfort in this: He is, in fact, with you.

You can declare, “God with me: the source of my comfort.”