When our children were young one of my favorite Bible stories to tell was the account of the life of Joseph. Joseph is a fascinating historical figure for so many different reasons. His faith, strength, and courage in the midst of significant trials as a young man is unmatched. What is the difference between Joseph and so many people today who let the trials and temptations of this life crush them? How could Joseph show this amazing relentless faith? I heard a preacher once beautifully simplify Joseph’s life. He said Joseph did what anyone would do if they knew, really knew, that God was WITH HIM.

The first thirty six chapters of Genesis are full of supernatural acts of God. Beginning with the miracle of creation, God seems to be actively involved in the affairs of the people he created. God speaks to Noah about the flood with specific directions of how to prepare. God speaks multiple times with Abraham and his family. God sends angels to rescue Lot and his family from pending doom in Sodom and Gomorrah. These are just a few of the many examples of God directly interacting with his people. This all seems to change once we get to the life of Joseph beginning in Genesis 37. After Joseph’s dreams in Genesis 37, we see no more visions, no angels being sent, no voice of God speaking to Joseph, no direct supernatural interventions of any kind. What we see in the early life of Joseph is approximately 13 years of one bad circumstance after the next. Joseph is thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, falsely accused of rape, and thrown into an Egyptian dungeon all while being obedient to his Heavenly Father. As Joseph experiences these horrific trials, the scripture repeatedly tells us that, “God was with Joseph.” 

What does it mean that God was with Joseph? The story of Joseph shows us that it can’t mean we will not experience trials and difficulties in this life. It means that when we do experience these difficulties and trials, we are able to experience a type of peace and contentment that transcends understanding. This peace and contentment can only be experienced when one chooses to cooperate with God by being obedient in spite of their circumstances. Joseph demonstrates that principle when Potiphar's wife attempts to seduce him and Joseph says, “how could I do this thing and sin against God?” This is the God who allowed Joseph to be torn away from his family, thrown into a pit, and sold as a slave in a foreign land. We have no indication Joseph knew why any of these events were happening, he just knew his God. At some point as a young man, Joseph made a decisive commitment to trust his God, and to not trust in his ability to interpret his circumstances. At the end of Joseph's journey he remarks in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” 

It is so hard in this life not to focus on our circumstances and to use our limited understanding of our circumstances as a source of understanding our God. Our human side wants to ask the question for Joseph, are these the sort of terrible circumstances that happen when God is with you? If that is the case God, why don’t you go be with Potiphar's wife for a while?  Things seem to be going pretty well for her hanging around the house all day while falsely accusing Joseph of rape! Joseph, however, seemed to refuse to look to his circumstances as a source for understanding his Heavenly Father. It appeared Joseph trusted God knew some things about his situation that he didn’t know. We learn from the account of Joseph that the Lord gave him success in whatever he did. In fact, we are told the Lord gave Joseph success in whatever he did two times in chapter 39 right after the statement, “the Lord was with Joseph.” This seems to be a bizarre statement when talking about a slave or a prison inmate. This doesn’t seem to fit our human understanding of success, success as a slave or prison inmate? The world may see Potiphar as successful because of his wealth and status, not his slave Joseph, or the prison warden as successful, not his inmate Joseph. Once again we see things aren’t always as they seem. God doesn’t view success the way the world views success. Success according to our Heavenly Father isn’t tied to position, power, or money, but in becoming a person of faithful obedience to our creator so God will receive the glory. Joseph’s success didn’t come in his circumstances changing for the better, though they do change later in his story, but his true success was that he changed. Joseph changed from a spoiled teenager who bragged and taunted his brothers to a humble, faithful servant of his Heavenly Father. 

While God was allowing Joseph to go through trials and difficulties to grow his character, God was also bringing Joseph to Egypt to eventually save his chosen people. Joseph’s remarkable character is maybe best displayed in his response to Pharaoh when Pharaoh asks him to interpret his dreams. After being stuck in an Egyptian prison for over two years, Joseph finally gets his break. He is cleaned and shaved and brought before the most powerful person in the world at that time to perform a task (interpret dreams) he has already done in the past. Yet Joseph has the boldness to look at the most powerful person in the world at that time, a person who believed himself to be a god, and Joseph when asked to interpret his dream says, “I can not do it.”  This statement set the stage for the next two words that would change Joseph’s life, the lives of his family, and the entire nation of Israel. “But God,” Joseph told Pharaoh. “But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Remember this is the same God that allowed Joseph to go be thrown in a pit, sold a slave, accused of rape, and wrongfully imprisoned over the course of thirteen years! My God will interpret your dream Pharaoh, which also implies to Pharaoh that he must not be God since he could not interpret his own dream. In a matter of a few hours Joseph goes from being in an Egyptian prison to being arguably the second most powerful person on the planet. How could Joseph be so bold to speak to Pharaoh like he did? Maybe Joseph was simply doing what anyone would do if they knew, really knew, God was with him. 

It turns out that what we see in Joseph then is not only that God was with Joseph, but also that Joseph was with his God. Oftentimes we want to feel God’s presence when we experience different trials and temptations, but we don’t want to commit to being with God through a life of humble obedience. We want to live our lives under our terms, use our time, money, and abilities to advance our own agenda rather than that of our Heavenly Father. So to know and experience the Lord is with us like Joseph, would we be willing to be with the Lord through our trust and obedience? Are we willing to prioritize trusting and obeying over our ability to interpret our circumstances? This principle is summed up beautifully in the classic hymn “Trust and Obey” by John Sammis as he reminds us of these timeless truths:

When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet

we will sit at his feet,

or we'll walk by his side in the way;

what he says we will do,

where he sends we will go;

never fear, only trust and obey. 

Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.