Today is February 9th.
 
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. 
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence. And say, “Come Holy Spirit.”  
 
Today’s reading is in two parts, from Genesis 39:1-6 and 20-23.
 

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.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his househo ld, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 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. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate….

Just a little while later, Joseph finds himself in a much different situation:

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, he Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.


In the first part of our reading, Joseph was living a flourishing and blessed life. In the second part, Joseph was deprived and alone, languishing in prison. Which scene best represents how you are feeling today: flourishing, or imprisoned? Free, or constrained?
 
God’s blessing was with Joseph during both times of his life: both in prospering circumstances, and in difficult circumstances. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul writes that he knows what it is like to be in need, and he knows what it is like to have plenty… and that in each case, the secret to being content is knowing and being strengthened by Christ. As you listen to the reading again, pay attention to how God never left Joseph.
 
Very often we are tempted to let our circumstances determine our sense of God’s presence with us. As we close, talk with God about the circumstances of your week. Invite the Holy Spirit to draw your attention to the presence of God with you today.

Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do, direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Music - You're Always With Us - Vineyard Worship - (YouTube)