"7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused... 20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison." -- Genesis 39:7, 8, 20 (Read Genesis 39 for the whole story.)
I know, from the title, it sounds like this blog is going to be self-indulgent, a bunch of ranting, full of egotistical banter about me and my greatness, but really it's about the exact opposite. It's about my (and perhaps others) need for humility and deliverance. But since I can't talk about anyone else, I'll focus on myself. Earlier today I was wondering why we have to go through struggles, and why, it seems, that our (my) struggles are typically at the hands of others. "If they would just get it together, stop bothering me, do what I say, life would be so much better." Sound familiar? Well, it has been my daily mantra for quite some time; and unfortunately until very recently, I thought it was the appropriate way to handle all that ails me. But today, God had a different story in mind.
It actually started last night while watching "Fireproof" (a movie I would highly recommend to couples and singles alike). At first I sympathized with the wife's character of course, but as the movie progressed, I realized that I was very similar to the husband's character who was convinced that his marriage would be so much better if his wife would "just get it together, stop bothering him and do what he said!" Gosh, do I really sound like that?, I thought to myself. And God nodded His head, Yep you do. Dang it...lol... So what does all this mean? It means that struggle has a purpose, but it's not the one we (I meant, I) usually think it is. We (I) often think that the struggle is caused by the actions of other people, but really it's God's way of getting us in check.
Case-in-point, Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Now I'm pretty familiar with this text, think I may have even preached out of it but God revealed it to me in a new way today. I don't think I have ever heard anyone teach on this text in regards to the issues that Potiphar's wife had. She clearly wanted to be an adulteress (if she wasn't one already); she was selfish as she wasn't concerned about Joseph's well-being, character or name; and she was most definitely a liar. But guess what? No one is talking about that; they're talking about Joseph. Why? Because the situation, the struggle, was for him, not her!!
Hello? Is anybody out there? Did you catch that? I finally did...for all the conversation that could be had on Potiphar's wife, the purpose of Joseph's encounter with her was for God to do a work in him, not her. I believe that God knew Joseph still harbored some anger and unforgiveness in his heart towards his brothers and that God needed to allow Joseph a little more time (2 years in fact) to deal with that before he could be further promoted. Now that's just speculation on my part, but I honestly believe that if Joseph's brothers had shown up before he went to prison, Joseph wouldn't have been as forgiving or understanding to their plight. God used the incident with Potiphar's wife to refine Joseph and prepare him for what was yet to come.
Perhaps like Joseph and like me, you are in a situation where you're thinking, "if this person, this job, this place would just change, my life would be so much better". And perhaps like me, you've been doing everything in your power to make that happen to no avail. And perhaps like me, you're tired of fighting a losing battle and finally realize as Joseph did, that this struggle is for your benefit and edification in the Lord. If you are that person, join the club, and make a decision to see what areas of your life need to be further refined by the uncomfortable situation you are currently in. Is there anger, unforgiveness, hurt, pride, lust, fear, etc. that God may be trying to remove from you through this situation that is hindering you from moving to your next level in Him? If so, like Joseph, use this time to allow God to do so, and eventually, you too will be promoted to the palace God has destined for you.
God has a vision for you...let's find out what it is!
In Christ,
SistaV
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