Just Like Joseph?

Tonight, I was thinking about something my pastor, Mike Martindale, said in his recent sermon series on the life of Joseph.  He said that there is a real danger in reading stories like this in the Bible, and then starting to think that if we just hang around through all of the bad times like Joseph did, that God will give us everything just like He gave Joseph.  Money, power, prestige, restored family relationships, etc.  However, that is often not a Biblical expectation out of life when you read the accounts of many others in God's Word.

Going back through that story in my mind, I’m reminded of the fact that Joseph never go to go back to see his homeland, missed years with his brothers and father, was falsely accused of attempted rape and thrown into jail for doing the right thing. A flicker of hope came into that dark prison through two Egyptian officials getting to know Joseph in prison, only to be snuffed out when they forget about him once they are freed.  Yes, he is eventually restored and given even more than before, but it hardly seems that Joseph had a perfect life.  I often think about what kind of conversations he must have had with God from prison.  Was his first wake up call and real conversation with God when his brothers threw him in that well before selling him to slave traders?

Our lives are not ever guaranteed to be perfect and comfortable.  I have been let down and betrayed by many who claimed to be friends or part of my family in Christ.  Like Joseph, these times bring a lot of pain and discouragement.   However, even on the darkest and loneliest days in the prison of my own mind, I find comfort in the guarantee that Jesus never leaves my side, speaking life to me through His Word.  That has been much more encouraging to me than any promise of money, power,  or job security.  People (even Christians), life, and work can let us down, but the one thing I want to hang on to (just like Joseph did), is my constant relationship with the Lord.  There’s nothing that sustains and encourages me more than that!