Prompt: Joseph in Prison, by Makoto Shinkai

In this biblical reflection, we will skip chapter 38 and proceed to chapter 39 in our study of Joseph's life. In the previous article, I shared with you the first part of this Life Reversal series. We saw how Joseph suffered from a life of love to separation, from big dreams to his worst nightmare, and from freedom to slavery.

In this second part, we will see Joseph serving as a slave in the house of an Egyptian captain, Potiphar. As the drama of Joseph's life unfolds, I want to share with you three important lessons hoping that they can comfort you in whatever you are facing right now.

Continue to practice living in the presence of God even in difficult situations

Why do you need to keep practicing the presence of God even amid difficulty? I think there are at least three reasons for this based on our text:

First, practicing the presence of God sustains you in difficult times.

Joseph's status now had been changed. He was no longer a free man. He was owned by somebody. But this status of his did not discourage him to go on living in the presence of God. Instead, we see God living with him. As a result, God prospered and made all his projects successful. He also won the favor and trust of his master. His master's wealth has been blessed by God through him. The promise given by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is also happening in the life of Joseph even in a difficult situation.

Blaming God is the common response of people when their lives turn sour. Particularly, if a person is very religious and yet instead of experiencing success, he suffers failure, then the tendency is to stop his religious exercises thinking that they aren't doing him anything good.

This should not happen to us. We should follow in the footsteps of Joseph in that no matter what the situation, we should keep on praying, reading his word, and serving in his church.

Second, practicing the presence of God results in prosperity and success.

I would like to distinguish the nature of Joseph's prosperity and success from the worldly kind. The world's way to achieve prosperity and success is by self-assertion and even by resorting to fraudulent means just to achieve one's goal. In Joseph's case, his prosperity and success are an outcome of a life lived in the presence of God. I think this distinction is important because not a few Christians have a negative perception of prosperity and success. That is understandable due to the popularity of the so-called "prosperity gospel."

It is unfortunate to see Christians who do not have a strong drive to be prosperous. As a result, their performance whether at school or work is mediocre. That gives a wrong impression to our Christian witness. People would think that Christians are lazy and only think about church matters. That is a misrepresentation of Christianity. Christians should be the ones most active in their education and should show concern for their companies' growth by being productive in their work.

Third, practicing the presence of God results in man's favor and trust.

Today, the church particularly in the West no longer enjoys the respect and high regard of the people. The church is looked at with suspicion and the people think of it as a money-making institution. This is an unfortunate state. This should not be the case. This calls for the church to return to the practice of living in the presence of God.

Remember the church in Jerusalem. The people saw that God was really with them and so "no one else dared join them even though they were highly regarded by the people" (Acts 5:13). Unlike today, many don't want to join the church not because of high respect, but because of suspicion and contempt. Again, I think the key is to return to a kind of life living in the presence of God.

Keep holding on to your principles even amid strong temptation

There is a Filipino song that says temptation has destroyed so many homes; it has wounded so many hearts; and the singer asks temptation to leave him.

That sounds funny, for temptation does not leave easily. In the case of Joseph, he tried to reason out with the woman tempting him, but this woman would not listen. Instead, this woman convinced him daily to give in to temptation, but Joseph refused to do so. Unfortunately, this woman had one chance to be with Joseph alone and she took that chance and failed.

Joseph's strategy of dealing with temptation did not stop with reasoning. When he saw that it didn't work, he tried to avoid the situation of being left alone with the woman tempting him. And ultimately, when the woman had a chance, Joseph ran away. It shows that temptation will never leave you. You must do something to keep yourself away from that situation.

Without living in the presence of God, it would be easy for Joseph and for anyone to fall into temptation. God is our only source of strength and protection to resist temptation.

Keep trusting God even when life seems unfair

Imagine a situation of an innocent man under the power of an influential woman. This woman frustrated by her obsession, fabricated a story to punish Joseph. Joseph as a result was taken from his privileged position in his master's house and was thrown into prison. The legal system at that time was on the side of the influential people and an innocent man like Joseph suffered injustice.

This story shows that suffering is inseparable for those who refuse to compromise and choose to stand on their principles. Good is not always rewarded; sometimes, it is even punished.

The apostle Peter has a word for a situation like this:

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.' But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to answer everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil (1 Peter 3: 13-17).

And so Joseph suffered for doing good. Wicked people hate people who do good. People living in sin hate people living in righteousness. And I think that's one reason why Christians are most hated today by those who pervert the meaning of "love" for they know that their lifestyle has no place in Christianity. Instead of giving up our biblical convictions, we should emphasize this all the more, but of course not in arrogance and pride, but with gentleness and respect.

Conclusion

A faithful servant who became a prisoner, that's a very sad story. However, Joseph found comfort in God. Likewise, in whatever situation you are in right now particularly if you are misunderstood, or misjudged, don't worry. Just keep living in the presence of God, hold on to your principles, and keep trusting even when life seems to treat you unfairly. Remember that Jesus himself was put to death for the world under the power of sin could not tolerate a man like him. Those in authority and the legal system of his time conspired against him just to eradicate him from the face of the earth. But they were wrong. The One they crucified rose again from the dead, now reigning, and will be coming back again to judge the quick and the dead.

Grace and peace!