From rags to riches would certainly describe the young lad who was stripped and thrown into a pit in the middle of a desert. He was then sold to a band of merchants as a slave, taken to Egypt, and again sold to one of Pharaoh’s captains, Potiphar. 
Potiphar was a man of extreme importance and wealth. Joseph would be living and serving in an elaborate setting, far beyond his most creative imagination. No doubt he was very lonely for his own home, his beloved father, and all that was familiar to him, but working for Potiphar was a better outcome than dying of heat stroke and malnutrition in a dried up old well. So Joseph accepted his new surroundings, and made the choice to give his best service for his new master.
It didn’t take Captain Potiphar long to realize that he had a golden nugget in his servant Joseph. Everything Joseph did resulted in God’s blessing on the captain’s household. With Joseph around, Potiphar did not have a care in the world. He could eat, drink, and be merry. However, Potiphar was not the only one to take notice of the blessings Joseph had brought with him.
This young man deserved a second look, and look is exactly what Mrs. Potiphar did. Here was a young stud with rippling muscles, a firm, strong body, and eyes to melt your heart. What would it be like to be held in his arms? Her look turned to lust, and since she was used to having anything she wanted, she decided she wanted him in her bed. She made herself very available to Joseph, and began to demand that he give in to her sensuous desires.
From riches to rags, now Joseph was in a prison cell. Time to pout now. Time to complain because it didn’t pay to serve God after all, right? Look where obedience had led him! Probably a lesser man would have given in to self-pity, but not Joseph. He saw his present circumstances as a time to trust God, and continue to give of his best service. Wherever God placed him, he would still honor God and be the person God called him to be…a person of integrity, dependability, and perseverance. And again, the Lord gave Joseph success in all that he did, even while in prison.
Potiphar was a man of extreme importance and wealth. Joseph would be living and serving in an elaborate setting, far beyond his most creative imagination. No doubt he was very lonely for his own home, his beloved father, and all that was familiar to him, but working for Potiphar was a better outcome than dying of heat stroke and malnutrition in a dried up old well. So Joseph accepted his new surroundings, and made the choice to give his best service for his new master.It didn’t take Captain Potiphar long to realize that he had a golden nugget in his servant Joseph. Everything Joseph did resulted in God’s blessing on the captain’s household. With Joseph around, Potiphar did not have a care in the world. He could eat, drink, and be merry. However, Potiphar was not the only one to take notice of the blessings Joseph had brought with him.
This young man deserved a second look, and look is exactly what Mrs. Potiphar did. Here was a young stud with rippling muscles, a firm, strong body, and eyes to melt your heart. What would it be like to be held in his arms? Her look turned to lust, and since she was used to having anything she wanted, she decided she wanted him in her bed. She made herself very available to Joseph, and began to demand that he give in to her sensuous desires. Joseph not only had physical strength, he had inner strength because of his strong relationship with God. He had standards which kept him from entertaining wrong desires. He recognized his position as a trust worthy servant, and he would do nothing to violate his master’s trust or his own conscience. Beyond being accountable to Potiphar, he was accountable to God for his actions. Having made his mind up to take responsibility for his actions ahead of time, he was able to say a most definite NO! to one of man’s strongest temptations, illegitimate sexual desires. Joseph had enough sense to put distance between him and that which was tempting him to be disobedient to God.
One day the lady of the house saw the perfect set up to trap Joseph. The house was empty except for the two of them, She grabbed him by the coat and demanded instant gratification from him. He slipped out of his coat and ran out of the house. "He’s going to pay for this! No one has ever refused me before and gotten away with it, and neither will Joseph!" Potiphar’s wife turned the tables and made it look like Joseph was the one with the lustful desires. She had his coat to prove how he had tried to advance on her. Potiphar had learned it was easier to go along with his wife, than to cross her, and he took her word for what had happened. In his anger he had Joseph confined to prison.
From riches to rags, now Joseph was in a prison cell. Time to pout now. Time to complain because it didn’t pay to serve God after all, right? Look where obedience had led him! Probably a lesser man would have given in to self-pity, but not Joseph. He saw his present circumstances as a time to trust God, and continue to give of his best service. Wherever God placed him, he would still honor God and be the person God called him to be…a person of integrity, dependability, and perseverance. And again, the Lord gave Joseph success in all that he did, even while in prison.What have your made your mind up to do? What kind of a person do you want to be remembered as? You must make those decisions before the heat of the battle, or you might cave in to the pressures of the moment. The Psalmist wrote, In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. (Psalm 41:12) Determine today your life will count for God, and then enjoy His presence. He will be with you today, tomorrow, in the moment of crisis, and throughout eternity. Praise God Almighty!!
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