Just Ask Joseph

One thing you can say about life is that it isn’t going to go smoothly.  Somehow, many get the (mistaken) idea that we’re going to get on the right track, and life will proceed in that manner until it’s over.  If we do things right, life goes relatively smoothly, right?  Just ask Joseph about that…

He started out well enough – coming from a wealthy family, and being the favorite of his father.  Can’t ask for a better start in life!  The next thing he knew, he was sitting in the bottom of a well, wondering what the heck would happen next; and shortly thereafter, his social status took a real beating. 

I once saw a cute little saying painted on a flower pot: “Bloom Where You’re Planted.”  Joseph must have seen that too.  Bloom, he did, in Potiphar’s house.  He took what he had, and did the best he could with it.  And just when things were looking good – along comes Mrs. Potiphar, and the next thing you know, Joseph’s in the bottom of yet another pit, this time prison.  And what did he do?  He bloomed again. 

You can’t say much for Joseph’s luck, if that’s what landed him in such dire straights.  A lot of people wouldn’t be very happy that they had worked so hard, only to find themselves getting kicked in the teeth yet again…

One thing I haven’t found in the scripture is the part where Joseph whines, and he did have cause to whine, if you ask me.  I can’t find the part where he says, “Oh, Why did You do this to me, God?  Haven’t I served you well?  What did I do to deserve this?”  But God had a bigger view; he was putting Joseph right where he wanted him – where he needed him.  If Joseph had stayed in his family’s comfortable home, neither they nor their countrymen might have survived the terrible famine.  It’s a good thing Joseph didn’t curl up in his pity pot and lay down to die when his world fell apart - either time.

Someone once said, “It’s not how many times you fall down that count, it’s how many times you get up.”  And when things went bad, Joseph did just that: he got up, and got about the business of honoring God in all he did.  And he was blessed.