Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, September 25, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Despite Joseph’s impossible circumstances, he remained faithful to God.
Joseph did whatever the Lord asked of him. He led a life of integrity and hard work. He rejected the offer of his master’s wife to lie with her. Yet, despite all Joseph’s best efforts, the behaviors of others changed the trajectory of his life, and he ended up in prison.
We may not be able to relate to the details of this story (if you’re reading this, you’re likely not enslaved to an Egyptian master, nor are you pursued by your master’s wife). But the overarching theme is all too familiar. Most of us are obligated to a boss, a landlord or mortgage company, a relationship, the IRS. It is nearly impossible to live completely free of obligations, and often these obligations can push us into situations where we must decide how to behave based on the behaviors of others.
In Joseph’s case, he was in an impossible situation. To lie with the master’s wife would inevitably lead to imprisonment or death (these things are rarely kept secret forever). But to refuse her also landed him in prison. Either way, he was bound to suffer.
But Joseph always had freedom to choose how he would respond to his circumstances. He could have
taken his chances by choosing to lie with the master’s wife. Instead, he chose integrity, honor, and loyalty. In prison, he could have chosen despair and given up. Instead, he chose to learn how to navigate the system through hard work. Ultimately Joseph’s decisions to maintain his integrity and step up when opportunity arose led to unparalleled prosperity not just for him, but for all of Egypt and his own family. It took a long time, and he had to suffer greatly to get there, but that’s what life is. Life includes waiting and suffering, but also action and celebrating. No life is all bad or all good. Joseph chose to follow his heart, even when those decisions led to difficult consequences. When all else looked dire, Joseph always had the freedom to choose how he would respond and act. When he chose God’s path, he walked the entire journey alongside God.
