Do you ever have times in your life when you feel overwhelmed? Too much to do and not enough time or energy? Are you tired of the chaos in our world? Perhaps it has reached into your town or workplace or church or even your family. Maybe you, or people you love, are battling serious health issues or experiencing a financial crisis. Perhaps you have one (or more) family members who have left their Christian roots and you don’t know if they will ever come back.

It is easy for us to take on the cares of the world, especially when they reach into our own neighborhood or home. We can grow wobbly in our confidence in the Lord when we turn our focus away from God and onto the problems in the world around us.

Remember Joseph?

It brings to mind Joseph, the apple of his father’s eye and the source of his brothers’ contempt. The siblings sold Joseph to Ishmaelite merchants, who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar. Because Joseph remained faithful to the Lord, God gave him success. Potiphar put him in charge of his household. Potiphar’s wife, however, desired Joseph and did her best to seduce him. When he refused, she accused him of trying to take advantage of her. Joseph ended up in prison, where he sat for an unspecified amount of time.

Joseph languished in prison, forgotten by Potiphar and by a fellow prisoner who had promised to put in a good word for Joseph. Forsaken by his brothers and his employer. did he also feel forsaken by God?

Have you been there? Are you there now?

But wait! Joseph’s story is not finished.

“But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden” (Gen 39:20-21).

But God did not forget Joseph. He was in that prison with Joseph. He showed him kindness. He granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

And God is with us, no matter our circumstances or the burdens we carry on behalf of others. The Lord is with you!

I have a list of 10 “But God” statements from the Bible that we will explore this month. I hope to share several testimonies of God’s faithfulness to provide for his people as well. May the Lord use the posts to encourage and bless us.

More on Joseph on Thursday. In the meantime, keep your heart open to the one who is with you in your own prison. Receive his kindness and may he grant you favor.

Ginger