Dreaming With Joseph: 7 Day Devotional On GreatnessSample

Joseph's story finally takes a positive turn, but only for a short while. The young man arrived in Egypt and was put to work. He does so well during his time there the Bible describes him as prospering. This is definitely an odd word to use for someone bound in slavery.

But God was with Joseph, so his experience was nothing short of extraordinary. He was quickly promoted from a simple outdoor slave to the head of Potiphar’s household. This would have been a prestigious role, usually reserved for the absolute best slaves who had served under the master for decades. Joseph was placed there in a fraction of that time.

During this time, everything placed under Joseph’s care prospered. He was basically a living good luck charm. However, another betrayal was right around the corner and Joseph’s world would again be stripped away.

One powerful lesson found here is the reason for Joseph’s success. Towards the beginning of this chapter, we read “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered.” It’s not a coincidence that the sentence was worded this way. There’s a relationship at work here, one that Bible commentator Gordon Wenham brings to life, “God’s presence and blessing belong together.”

The presence of God and the blessing of God are two sides to the same coin. Just like God is light and around him there can be no darkness, so God’s presence brings blessing. Like an aura of good, when God is near something or someone that thing cannot help but become more than it was before. 

How often do you pray for blessings? And how often do you pray for God’s presence?

I know personally, I ask for the first much more often. I ask God to bless my opportunities, my decisions, my trials, and my relationships. But what if that’s incomplete? What if instead of asking for a blessing, we asked for God to show up in our opportunities, choices, and pains? 

What if the reason we are not experiencing blessing is that we have a habit of not inviting the Blesser? 

Takeaway: The presence of God brings the blessings of God.