Friday August 23
"These things
happened to them as examples…for
us.”
1Co 10:11 NIV
Samson and Joseph
(2)
While Samson had everything going for him, Joseph had
everything going against him. Notice: (1) He was badly treated by the
people of God. Joseph’s brothers resented the vision God gave him and the
favor that was upon his life, so they sold him into slavery. Who told you
everybody would appreciate you? Not God! Jesus said, "If they hated you,
it’s because they hated me first” (See Jn 15:18). But Joseph maintained a
forgiving spirit and not only ended up being reconciled with his family, but he
fed them during the famine. (2) He was alone in a land where no one had
knowledge of God. But like a lily in a mud marsh, he stayed clean and grew
in faith. It’s not the circumstances that surround you, but what’s within you
that determines your success. (3) He was exposed to temptation. Joseph
was lonely, far from home, and subject to every impulse a red-blooded male can
have. Potiphar’s wife tried repeatedly to seduce him, but he said no. In his
case, there’s a good chance that he might have gotten away with it. But his
reason for saying no was, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin
against God?” (Ge 39:9 NIV). Nothing meant more to Joseph than his relationship
with the Lord. (4) His integrity came at a price. Based on false
accusations by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph went to prison for a crime he didn’t
commit. Did God fail him? No, the contacts needed to get him to the throne were
waiting for him in prison. So be true to God and He will bless you.
Taken from the Word for You Today devotional
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