I love the story of Joseph. If you aren’t reading with us, or if by some chance you got behind and haven’t read about Joseph yet, stop and read Genesis 37-50.
What amazes me about this story is the faithfulness of Joseph. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that remarkable. I mean, isn’t this how a believer is supposed to act? Isn’t this the type of life demanded by God, talked about by Jesus and most recently brought to our attention in popular books such as Crazy Love?
However, what is truly remarkable is that of anyone up to this point, Joseph had the greatest reasons to disobey God and lose his faith. Every excuse we come up with was at Joseph’s disposal. He was betrayed by his older brothers. He felt abandoned by God. He was alone in a culture that wouldn’t have cared if he slept with his master’s wife and would encourage worshiping other gods. His father wasn’t exactly a pillar of moral living. His brothers had done much much worse. In fact, up to this point, had any of the “heroes of the faith,” many of whom had much more comfortable lives than Joseph, not fallen to some sort of sin? Why then shouldn’t Joseph be given a pass?
And yet, Joseph didn’t budge. He remained strong. He kept the faith. He didn’t give up! What excuses do you have for your sin? What reasons do you have for not being able to help but fall for a temptation? Joseph proves that there never is an excuse. This is validated in 1 Cor. 10:13-14 which says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Let each of us commit to be a Joseph!
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