And the Lord was with Joseph

“And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar bought him ... and the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man...” - Genesis 39v1-2

In the midst of all of the sin and depravity in these chapters we are returned to the life of Joseph. The last record of him was being sold to a bunch of slave traders as they passed by. In the minds of his brothers, as they went on in their own wicked ways Joseph was surely off the scene. Joseph was rejected and alone, sold as a slave in a foreign land.

Yet, we read some amazing words here - “The Lord was with Joseph!” This looks like a great oxymoron. Bought as a slave, but the Lord was with Him? How could this possibly be true?

The great truth is that God has purposes for us that we don't always understand. James makes it clear that we are to count it all joy when we fall into trials. As Joseph looked around he must have wondered what was going to happen to him. How could this be a good situation? Circumstances indicated that he was all alone, a slave in a foreign land. Humanly speaking he was all of this, but he had a greater Presence that he could have hoped for - the Lord was with Him!

When Jesus was born one of the titles given to Him was Emmanuel, God with us. When he left the earth He said, “Lo, I am with you always...” When we are going through struggles let us remember the wonderful truth that God is with us. In our prosperous times may we be reminded that God is with us. May our attitude bypass circumstances and dwell on the wonderful truth that as Christians God is with us as we face another day!