Bible in 90, Day 4: From well, to servant’s house, to dungeon, to palace

Genesis 41-50

*image courtesy of blary54 at stock.xchng

Poor Joseph.  I mean, all he did was tell people what he knew and stand for what’s right.  For that, he got thrown into a well, and then sold to slave traders by his brothers.  He got thrown into jail on trumped up charges by his new boss’s wife.  And when a ray of hope finally beamed into his dungeon after helping out the cup bearer to the king, the guy forgets him… for two whole years!

Finally, when Pharaoh needs some dream interpretation skills, the cup bearer manages to remember that guy that he left in the pit two years ago.  Now, if this were an action-packed summer blockbuster, this would be the part where a ragged, newly-muscled, scraggly bearded Joseph (who probably spent the two years learning kung-fu from some old blind prisoner who died on the day he was supposed to be released and whom Joseph swears to avenge) busts through the door with some good ol’ fashioned Hebrew justice in his fists!  But it’s not an action-packed summer blockbuster.

Thankfully.

Instead, Joseph shaves, changes his clothes, and continues doing what he’s been doing – telling people the truth as God leads him.  No matter what disaster or hardship befalls our hero, he stays true to what he knows is right.

He stays faithful.

If he’s a son, he’s the best son he can be to his father.  If he’s a servant, he works so hard at his job he’s put in charge of the whole household.  If he’s a prisoner, he’s a model prisoner, even put in charge of the workings of the prison.  If he stands before the Pharaoh, he is made Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the king.  He stays faithful, no matter his environment or circumstances.

Second Thessalonians 3:13 urges us to never tire of doing what is right, and Philippians 2:14-15 tells us to do everything without grumbling or complaining.  What does it take to break us?  If someone treats us unfairly, do we stop serving or loving them?  If someone falsely accuses us, do we take the opportunity to seek revenge?  If someone forgets to acknowledge us, do we use it as an excuse to stop working hard?

We must never stop doing what is right, we must work hard without complaining.  We are where we are because God has placed us there.  No matter how difficult the task, know that God has assigned you for it and therefore you can get through it.

Someone once told me that we do what we’re supposed to do because we’re supposed to do it, not because of what everyone around us doing.  We must serve faithfully because we are servants of God.  If we serve for any other reason, we will eventually find an excuse to stop serving – the money’s not good enough, they don’t respect me, this is beneath me, the love is gone, it’s too hard.

Let’s never tire of doing what is right.  Let’s look at every circumstance as a mandate from God to act in the way that glorifies Him most.  Let’s always remember that there are no problems in life, only opportunities to glorify God!

Originally at Words of Reason