GENESIS 39 IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD The journey was long and the miles would seem to pass by slowly as Joseph went farther and farther away from his family. But for one who was used to being in fellowship with God, there would have been inner peace and comfort of soul knowing the Lord was with him. Instead of being sold as a slave to work in the fields until he died, he was sold to a man of wealth. Even there, Joseph paid attention to the small details that makes a person invaluable to those for whom he labors. I was made conscious again of the fact that God knows where we are at all times and in the circumstances that surround us. In everything we do, we are to "do it as unto the Lord and not unto man knowing that from the Lord, we will receive the reward, for we serve the Lord Christ." Fellowship with the Lord can be experienced in every part of our life when we are conscious of His presence.
I saw from my viewpoint that even in opulent surroundings where everything seems so favorable, the enemy of God's people is laying a snare to capture the soul. It is not uncommon for sexual temptation to be the downfall of a young person. The attempts to seduce Joseph that were made by Potiphar's wife, did not stop after the first and second attempt. Joseph realized the great sin in giving in to the temptation would not only be against his master or his master's wife - nor even against himself. It would be a sin against the Lord. An act of disobedience against God would break fellowship with God. We must always be vigilant in our life of faith. We must never let anything come into our life that would break the fellowship we have when the Lord is with us. It is not something to be surprised about when the one for whom a man of faith works, finds he is prospering and being blessed because of a Christian worker who works for him - but does his work as to the Lord.
When a person can be trusted in the small things, it won't be very long before they are given greater responsibility. The testing time will always come because the enemy of our soul wants to build us up for a time, that he might bring greater dishonor on the name of the Lord when he seeks to make a believer fall. But a truth to be remembered by a person of faith in any compromising situation is - "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."
As I watched the young man Joseph in the house of Potiphar, and his behavior after being falsely accused, deliberately maligned, and condemned on the spot - I wondered at which person the anger of Potiphar was kindled. He certainly would have known his wife. When he personally took Joseph to the prison, perhaps there was a sense of guilt and the anger may have been against both his wife and himself. An interesting observation is that Joseph had nothing at all to say. How like the Lord Jesus he was. "When He was reviled, He reviled not again. When He suffered, He threatened not..." I learned that when a person is committed to fellowship with God, there may be times when it is best to be silent rather than seek self-defense. When there are two versions of an incident, if one person is going to lie, usually that is the one who will be the victor in the confrontation. When a person is satisfied to take the wrong and leave a matter with the Lord, He can work it out in His own time and way. It is folly for a young person to expect the deception of an older person to work out in his favor. What we can do is commit the whole matter to the Lord and trust Him without hesitation. Fellowship with the world is enmity against God. And fellowship with God will separate you from the world.
Even in the prison, a most unlikely place for Christian witness, God is able to do for us, way beyond what we could ever think or ask for. I am not sure of all that needs to be done to make a prison to function right, but even in that place the Lord was able to use His young servant who remained in fellowship with the Lord. The evidence is in - God can, and does, work on behalf of those who trust Him, and commit themselves to integrity and a daily, personal to the Lord and His grace.
It is not easy to be alone in a far and distant place. It is not easy to be a teenager who can't see one familiar face. It is not easy to stand for God and keep your integrity.
It is not easy to live each day with such uncertainty.
It is not easy to have a job and do all as unto the Lord. It is not easy to resist temptation without a nod or word. It is not easy to do what you know is right when it is so easy to do wrong. It is not easy to avoid the action when the appeal is so strong.
It is not easy to run away from evil when no one is there to see. It is not easy to face the beauty of seduction and immediately flee. It is not easy to have in your grasp something you must let go. It is not easy to run from what you want, and to temptation say "No."
But life was not promised to be easy, in fact it may be hard. But when one is conscious of fellowship with God, we have the strength of the Lord. And within us the Holy Spirit works in ways we cannot see. I know when I yield myself to Him, He wants the best for me.
There will be temptations in this life, from temptations we can't escape. But we don't need to yield to temptation in the decisions that we make. We do need to draw near to God, and then He draws near to you. He will give you the needed moral strength, and show you what to do.
Fellowship with God isn't based on a whole lot of knowledge. And fellowship with God is not just some course you were taught in college. Fellowship with God means you want to share your life with Him. And that fellowship with God is the way to escape from sin.
"Father God, I thank Thee for the fellowship with Thee that I enjoy and appreciate beyond words. Father, there are some young people I know who make professions of salvation but they are not in fellowship with Thee. Preserve them, O Lord God, and in some way turn them from this dark course they are going on, to walk in the light that will give them fellowship with Thee - and safety. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."