And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
“But wait! There’s more!” As seen on TV ads feature this phrase, possibly thinking it works; or perhaps it does. In the Bible, this conjunction, “but”, is one of the most important in all of Scripture. In Ephesians, Paul described how the Gentiles had no hope of salvation; But God… Here in this passage, Joseph found himself in an impossible situation. His descent began in a pit, moved on to slavery in Egypt, eventually, as a result of this episode with Potiphar’s wife, in prison in Egypt. At this point, Joseph could have given up in bitterness and anger. But God…
The Lord was with Joseph, in the pit, in the slave quarters, and in the prison. We can take heart in this fact. You may be struggling with your finances, with your health, with your relationships, and can see no way out. But God… You have no hope of salvation based on your sins and depraved nature. But God…made a way through Jesus Christ on the cross to be right with God. This beautiful truth does not mean that your financial, health, and relationship issues will suddenly get better. They may even get worse. But God…is with you. Always. The risen Jesus said so before his ascension. You may be feeling low right now with the ongoing crises of virus, inflation, and a decaying culture…
But God…
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church