19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 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, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 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. 23 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 this story, Joseph (who was first sold into slavery by his own brothers because he was his father's favorite) was later thrown into jail because of a lie by a vindictive women.
The fact of the matter is - we do NOT live in a fair world, there is no fairy tale ending here on earth, and nothing you do is going to make life fair. Something else may come along to mar it. It's a lesson I review with my kids - a lot!
What I find fascinating in this story is how Joseph reacts to what has happened. In order for God to be with Joseph and show him favor and success in whatever he did - I'm thinking Joseph must have been obedient and trusting and faithful to God even through the unfair times.
It takes character and courage to remain faithful when life is giving us lemons. We can't change the facts that this world is unfair, but we are in control of our reaction to it. I want to remain faithful to God in the hard and unfair times of life - not just the good times. What about you? What are you doing to remain in God's favor?
