Genesis 39:2a

       “The Lord was with Joseph”. 4 times in this chapter of Genesis, we read “the Lord was with Joseph”. Joseph’s life was not an easy one. Before the beginning of Genesis 39, chapter 37 tells us that his brothers hated him, stripped him of his coat of many colors his dad gave him, and threw him in a pit. When they saw a caravan of people going to Egypt, they sold him to them and went about their business as if nothing had happened. In 39:1, we see “And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there”. In verse 3, “his master saw that the Lord was with him”. The next time we see those words “the Lord was with Joseph” is in verse 21 & 23 after his master wife lied and said that Joseph tried to rape her. Joseph was sentenced to prison, but again we see that “the Lord was with him”. It’s interesting to note that God did not remove Joseph’s circumstances, but He was with him. Joseph didn’t see the work God was doing until it was accomplished 13 years later, and many were saved because of it (Gen 50:20, my paraphrase). Is there some trial or circumstances you are in that you did not create? Do those around you notice that the Lord is with you while you are going through them?