Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s examine unfair Losses.

Today’s scripture,Genesis 39:10-20 (NLT), testifies…
[10] She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. [11] One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. [12] She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house. [13] When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, [14] she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. [15] When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.” [16] She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. [17] Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. [18] “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!” [19] Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. [20] So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.

Consider…
According to Wikipedia, Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and other forms of post-conviction relief, as well as advocate for criminal justice reform to prevent future injustice.

If this organization existed in Joseph’s time, it surely would have taken his case. Let’s review the facts.

First, Genesis 37:26-28 (NLT) provides evidence that Joseph was sold to traffickers. It says…
[26] Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. [27] Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. [28] So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

And Genesis 37:36 (NLT) reveals the traffickers sold Joseph into slavery…
[36] Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.

This proves the fact that sometimes God may allow us to be forced into unfair situations beyond our control. Bad things can and will happen to good people.

Yet, Genesis 39:2 (NLT) reveals an important truth in Joseph’s unfair situation. It says…
[2] The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.

That just hit replay on one of my favorite songs…

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine
He’s been my fourth man in the fire, time after time

Always remember, the Lord is with you regardless of where you are or how you got there.

Knowing the Lord was with him, allowed Joseph to serve Potiphar in accordance with Ephesians 6:5-8 (NLT), which exhorts…
[5] Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. [6] Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. [7] Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. [8] Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

How does knowing the Lord is with you influence the way you serve in unfair circumstances?

Next, we see Joseph’s successful service as a slave was recognized and rewarded by his master. Potiphar promoted Joseph from common slave to personal attendant. That reminds me of Jesus’ teaching about the talents in Matthew 25:23 (NLT), when He said of the faithful stewards…
[23] “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

Always remember that regardless of where you are or what you’re doing, the Master is watching! And the Master rewards those who successfully complete their assigned tasks. So succeed where you are, and trust God to promote you.

Our next exhibit shows us Joseph had proven himself trustworthy and thus was completely trusted. Genesis 39:5-6a (NLT) explains…
[5] From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. [6] So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat…

Similar to Jesus’ parable of the talents, the those who proved themselves trustworthy and faithful where given more responsibility. This begs the question, how trustworthy and faithful are you?

This brings us to today’s scripture and focus. Joseph continued to prove himself worthy of God’s and Potiphar’s trust by refusing to sin against them. Genesis 39:8-9 (NLT) shares Joseph’s sworn affidavit, which states…
[8] But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. [9] No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

Joseph, made the right decision that God wanted Adam and Eve to make in the garden. Yet, Joseph was falsely accused of rape and unfairly imprisioned. This shows us that doing the right thing doesn’t guarantee the right thing will be done to us. When that happens, it’s good to know that we’re not alone. In fact, I encourage you to memorize and recite 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) in the midst of your unfair situation. It says…
[21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

You see, in the rest of Joseph’s story, we witness him being a successful and favored prisoner. This allowed Joseph to be recognized by the Warden and recommended to Potiphar’s boss. It is important that we understand sometimes God may allows setbacks to prepare us for step-ups in His Kingdom.

• Moses went from prince in a palace to fugitive in the wilderness in order to learn how to shepherd God’s chosen people.
• Peter went from Transfiguration observation to denial condemnation to learn and share God’s grace reconciliation found in Christ’s salvation.
• Paul went from being an esteemed religious leader to a blinded redeemed sinner who became a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody who could save anybody.

Today’s encouragement is to recognize what may seem unfair, is just preparation for the greater things that God just has yet to make us aware.

This makes me think of Mary and Martha’s indictment of Jesus not coming sooner to heal their brother Lazarus. They probably felt his death was unfair. However, God was interested in doing something far greater than healing, He was displaying His Ressurection power, which in the words of Maurette Brown Clark means…

It ain’t over until God says it’s over.

This means unfair situations are momentary light afflictions. Thus like Joseph we can testify with 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NLT) that…
[17] For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! [18] So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

It appears to me that unfair losses are fairly common with God to achieve eternal gains in Jesus’ name.

So stop distressing over unfair losses and focus on faithfully and successfully serving where you are.

That’s because, when you prove yourself trustworthy in the unfair, the Master can trust you to be His blessing everywhere.

Joseph went from being a slave, to being a personal attendant, to attending to the needs of everyone. That’s because regardless of where he was he proved himself trustworthy by faithfully and successfully serving the LORD, his true Master!

The Holy Spirit is telling me to close with Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT), which says…
[5] You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. [9] Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Like Christ, endure unfair earthly losses for unfathomable eternal gains.

Today’s Song is…
I Trust You

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)