The Story of Joseph Continued
“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”
Genesis 39:2
Today we continued into the story of Joseph.
After Joseph was sold into slavery, Potiphar purchased him to be a servant. God was with Joseph and he prospered under Potiphar’s house. Soon he became the leader of the House. He was Second To None behind Potiphar.
A few things to note about the situation. One is that it was very uncommon for a Hebrew slave to be put into a position of authority in an Egyptian house.
Another is that Joseph was still extremely young when he worked in Potiphar’s house. Can you imagine a late teenager running a large business?
Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
Notice that Joseph didn’t think about the pleasure he might get out of this. He cared more about how he could sin against God.
Last time you were tempted with a guilty pleasure did God even cross your mind?
You see Joseph put God first. That right there is the key to keep God first, always. He wasn’t afraid of the consequences of his actions because he knew that God was on his side. Just like Daniel when he was thrown into the lion’s den (but that’s for another devotional)
Joseph was not afraid to do what was right not only by God but also by his master. Today we want to encourage you to do what is right by God! Know that he will stand behind you and will back you up when you do what’s righteous. Know in your heart that God has your back. NEVER be afraid to stand up for GOD.
A few things to think about:
How do you live a God first life? Could you explain it to somebody else if they asked? When Satan tries to knock you down, how do you react?
When was the last time you stood up for God? Was it easy or hard? How did you feel afterward? Did you pray before, during, or after the event? How did God reward you for doing what was right?
Prayer
Lord today we come to you with an open heart, open eyes, and an open mind. Last week we ask that you give us courage as Joseph had. The courage to be strong when we don’t know the outcome. This week God, we pray that you grant us the different kinds of Courage. Courage always does what’s right by you! Alternatively, we pray that you give us the courage to put you first, the courage to live a God’s first life. Lord we know but it’s not going to be easy. In addition, we know but you’re going to be there with us through all of the hard times and the good times. We asked you would guide us and be our light in the darkness. Knowing that you are there for us will put our hearts and minds at ease. God, we thank you for putting us in those through situations so we can learn to be stronger. Therefore, we can grow our faith and strength in you, your word, and your kingdom. Lord today we say THANK YOU!
Amen
Will you pray with us?
Mankind throughout the world throughout our current situation
All Law enforcement and emergency response personnel
For all military personal serving our country and their families
Those in Leadership positions throughout the world
Prayer
Lord, today we come to you with HAPPY hearts. We are so grateful that you give us the opportunity to change the lives of those around us. We are grateful that you give us the wisdom to change our lives and the lives of those around us. And you make it so simple. We can do it with a single smile. God today I would ask that you help us to smile more. The next time we see someone down, help us to smile for them. The next time we are down, help us to remember that you gave us the best gift ever. The ability to know you, your son, and the holy spirit. God, we are so grateful for everything you give us.
We ask all these things in your Precious Son's Name
Amen
A Little More
The other day I got a call from one of our clients.
I love talking to our clients so I always smile when I answer the phone.
“Hey Dan, one of my drivers is pulled over and they are saying that our permit doesn’t cover what we weigh. Isn’t that why we hire your team to make sure that these things don’t happen!”
My smile immediately vanished.
I was shocked because my team is amazing. and it’s not like them to miss something like 20,000 lbs on a permit.
So, I asked him, “Who have you been working with, and who was the one who called our team to get the permit?”
To get to the bottom of the problem I needed the details.
They gave me the details.
My next call was to my team. Then after I got the details I got them started on getting new permits to get the problem fixed. I’m a solutions guy, not an excuses guy.
But I NEED to know the real reason why it happened so that we can fix the issue.
My next call was to the driver so that I could see exactly what happened.
I knew he was going to be upset. He was pulled over and they were going to give him a HUGE ticket. I wouldn’t be happy either.
so……
I made sure not to smile when I made the call. I had a serious look on my face. As we chatted I learned that he was the person who gave his weight to our team. I asked where he got the weights from and how in the world they were off by over 20K lbs!
That’s when he told me that he might have gotten the wrong scale ticket from the weigh station where he originally weighed.
Immediately my heart leapt with joy, this is NOT our fault!
Now to get the problem resolved and get this driver back on the road was my only goal. I was not going to assign blame or make anyone feel bad.
Hey, we all make mistakes. I do it multiple times every single day.
The owner of the company shot me a text. I'm getting permits from the big guys. They won’t make these mistakes that cost me time and $$$$$.
No problem. Let me know if you need anything. We are here to help.
Well……..
After they called the “BIG Guys” they called me about 30 minutes later.
Hey, we can’t get an Idaho permit until Monday. It’s Friday night. And we need to drop this load off tomorrow afternoon.
I told him that I would NOT make any promises.
But my team went to work!
Guess what????
We got the permits that the “BIG Guys” couldn’t get.
My team had the Idaho permit in less than 20 minutes. For the right weight this time.
Here’s the point of all this.
When things don’t go right, smile. I have taught my whole team this.
That right there is how we got the permits. They smiled as they worked and it didn’t take any time at all.
Ok, there might be a little knowledge that went into this too. Lol
Next time you need anything DOT, don’t call the “Big Guys” , call the team who can get it done!
Dan Greer
