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The Really BIG Deal

Words of Faith Final

The Really BIG Deal
Words of Faith 7-8-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 39
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
[2] The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. [3] When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, [4] Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. [5] From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. [6] So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

So what was going on with Joseph? One really BIG deal: The Lord was with Joseph (vs 2). Now there was another little deal: The Lord prospered Joseph. This was a really good thing that undoubtedly encouraged Joseph, but it was not the big deal.
His brothers sold Joseph into slavery, but upon arrival in Egypt, Joseph was sold into the house of Potiphar, a prominent Egyptian official. The hand of the Lord was upon Joseph, and everything he did prospered. In fact, the blessing of God was so obviously upon Joseph that Potiphar put him in charge of everything in his household! Wow! Success!
But it is interesting what the text does NOT say. The text does not say that Joseph was bright and talented even though he was. The text does not say that Joseph was shrewd in business decisions and management, even though he surely was. The text does not say that Joseph was hard working and diligent even though he clearly was all that and more. No, the text does not lift up the talents of Joseph even though he undoubtedly was remarkably talented. The text lifts up the blessing of the Lord.
We will see in the chapters ahead that Joseph is a magnificent character not because of his human ability but because of his willingness to trust God and remain faithful. Sometimes we miss that. Often we see a person that is successful in business, commerce, ministry, or life in general, and we look readily to that person's talent as the source. This is not a scriptural perspective.
Joseph survived and then thrived in Egypt not because he was so personally resourceful but because the Lord was with him and the blessing of God was upon him.
So does that mean that if I struggle in life, the Lord is not with me? Not at all. Many servants of the Lord struggled with poverty and hardship. Just read the life of Paul!
"Rather, as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights, and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything" (2 Cor. 6:4-10).
In fact, we will soon see that hardship will return to Joseph. Was that a sign of God's disfavor? No. In fact, it was part of God's plan to move Joseph into a place of even greater influence.
So here is the BIG idea: The Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph when he wandered into an ambush by his brothers. The Lord was with Joseph when he was sold into slavery. The Lord was with Joseph when he prospered in the house of Potiphar. The Lord will be with Joseph when he is thrown into prison.
Our problem is that we allow prosperity to distract us either by its presence or absence. When we experience prosperity, we are tempted to think it was by our talent. When we lack prosperity, we tend to blame God for abandoning us. In reality, prosperity is a little deal. The presence of the Lord is the BIG deal.
The BIG deal is so simple. God is with us. Jesus is clear that He will not abandon us (John 14:18; Matthew 28:20). He will not leave us or forsake us. He is with us to the end. In hardship and in prosperity, He is with us.

Lord, I give thanks that You are with me today. I rejoice in knowing that You will not abandon me. I trust that You are with me in the hard and challenging times as well in the times of blessing. I rejoice to know that You are with me today. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.