music :: worship :: life
Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him.—Genesis 39:20-21
I am a prisoner. I am locked away. I am shut up in a cell. But the walls of my cell are not of stone or steel or mortar, but are of choices, habits, attitudes, memories, fears, reactions . . .
Lord, you promised to Joseph, “I will be with you.” You promised to Moses, you promised to Gideon, you promised to Paul: “I will be with you.” And you have promised to me, “I will be with you.” Because of your unfailing love—because of your steadfastness, your loyalty—even now you are with me. As I struggle to focus on this. As my painful memories, my griefs, my shames, my anger, fight for my attention. They struggle and clamour and catch me up in a tornado of competing emotions. But always you are there. When I fix my mind upon the certainty of your steadfast love, my hope is restored.
I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him.
—Lamentations 3:20-25
I see what you have done for Joseph. Again and again, he left all hope behind. Everything was taken from him. He lost it all when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He built a mercantile empire in Potiphar’s service, but lost it all when he was thrown into prison. You could have saved him from prison, but instead, you went with him into prison. As successful as he was, he was still a slave. And you had greater plans for him. All his labor was only enriching Potiphar and earning himself an easy post and life of luxury.
He lost it all again, but you went with him and brought him to Pharaoh. You had a master plan, and what Joseph was doing was not enough. You needed him for something more important.
So where am I in this? A prisoner? A slave? What plans do you have for me?
The song on the way to work this morning said, “The only thing I never question is You. You really love me like you say you do.”
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