Today’s Reading: Genesis 39-40, Matthew 11
I started today feeling good.
Then somewhere along the way, frustration crept in.
Nothing catastrophic happened. It was just one of those days where I could feel my thoughts starting to follow my mood downhill.
So I decided to stop for a little while and read.
And today, Joseph’s story didn’t necessarily teach me something I had never believed before.
It did something different.
It confirmed something I’ve come to believe – and then made me think about how important it is for other people to understand it too.
Because when you really stop and look at what happened to Joseph, there is a lesson here that reaches far beyond the story itself.
Look at What Joseph Actually Did
By Genesis 39, Joseph has already been betrayed by his own brothers and sold into slavery.
Think about that for a moment.
He didn’t choose where he was.
He didn’t deserve what happened to him.
And he had every reason to be angry about it.
But instead of allowing what had been done to him to determine who he would become, Joseph worked.
He served Potiphar faithfully and earned his trust.
Then Potiphar’s wife repeatedly tried to seduce him.
Joseph refused.
Eventually, she arranged for them to be alone and tried again.
Joseph literally ran away, leaving his garment behind.
He knew what she was asking him to do was wrong.
So he chose the right thing.
And what happened?
She used the garment against him.
She falsely accused him.
Potiphar believed her.
And Joseph was thrown into prison.
That matters.
Because sometimes I think we unintentionally simplify faith into:
Do the right thing, and something good will happen.
But that’s not what happened here.
Joseph did the right thing.
And something bad happened anyway.
So Was Doing the Right Thing Worth It?
That’s the question I kept thinking about.
If doing the right thing doesn’t guarantee an immediate reward, why do it?
Because maybe doing the right thing was never supposed to be about what we get back.
Maybe it’s about deciding who we want to be.
That’s something Scripture returns to again and again.
Serve without needing recognition.
Give without expecting repayment.
Love people who cannot give you something in return.
Forgive.
Help.
Be honest.
Do what is right even when nobody is watching.
Those aren’t transactions.
They’re choices about our character.
And Joseph demonstrates that beautifully.
His integrity didn’t immediately get him out of trouble.
Actually, it temporarily got him into more of it.
But he didn’t allow someone else’s dishonesty to change his own.
That’s powerful.
Especially now.
Because how often do we base our actions on what someone else did first?
They treated me badly, so…
They didn’t help me, so…
Nobody appreciated what I did, so…
I gave so much and got nothing back, so why bother?
But what if their actions don’t get to determine ours?
What if doing good is still worth doing simply because good is who we’re choosing to put into the world?
And God Was Still There
There’s another piece of Joseph’s story that I’ve come to understand deeply throughout my own life.
Joseph does what is right, and God doesn’t swoop in and prevent the prison.
Instead, Genesis tells us:
The Lord was with Joseph.
That distinction matters.
Faith doesn’t mean nothing painful will happen.
It doesn’t mean people won’t hurt us.
It doesn’t mean we’ll never be misunderstood, falsely accused, disappointed, forgotten, or afraid.
And it doesn’t mean doing the right thing guarantees that life will immediately reward us for it.
What Joseph’s story shows us is different.
God was with him inside of what happened.
And Joseph continued.
In prison, he again earned trust.
He continued using the gifts God had given him.
He helped the people around him.
He interpreted dreams.
He participated in the life that was in front of him – even though I’m sure it wasn’t the life he wanted.
And that might be one of the biggest lessons I saw today:
Don’t stop living because you’re waiting for your circumstances to change.
He Didn’t Know the Next Chapter
Genesis 40 ends in a way that I think is incredibly important.
Joseph helps Pharaoh’s cupbearer by interpreting his dream.
Joseph asks him to remember him when he is restored.
The interpretation comes true.
The cupbearer gets his position back.
And then he forgets Joseph.
That’s where the chapter ends.
We have an advantage Joseph didn’t have.
We can turn the page.
We know there’s more to his story.
Joseph didn’t.
He had to wake up the next day still in prison.
He had to keep living without knowing when – or whether – anything was going to change.
And how often is that exactly where we are?
We want to know what happens next.
We want reassurance.
We want to know the thing we’re working toward will succeed.
We want to know the difficult season ends.
We want someone to tell us:
Don’t worry. Chapter 41 is coming.
But life doesn’t work that way.
Sometimes we’re living chapter 40.
And we don’t get to read ahead.
So what do we do?
Live the Chapter You’re In
Maybe that’s the question Joseph’s story asks us.
What are you going to do with the chapter you’re currently living?
Not the one you wish you were in.
Not the one you’re afraid might be coming.
Not the one you’re desperately trying to get to.
This one.
Can you still be kind?
Can you still work hard?
Can you still help someone?
Can you still use what you’ve been given?
Can you still choose integrity?
Can you do something good without needing someone to notice?
Can you keep moving even when you don’t know where you’re going yet?
Because maybe faith isn’t always knowing that everything is about to work out.
Sometimes faith is simply believing there’s still a reason to keep going.
Maybe You Don’t Know What You Believe
And this is where I want to speak to anyone reading this who might not have the relationship with God that I do.
Maybe you don’t know what you believe.
Maybe you’ve never read the Bible.
Maybe organized religion has made you uncomfortable.
Maybe you’ve questioned God because terrible things happen in this world.
Maybe you want faith but don’t know where to begin.
Or maybe you’re simply tired.
Then Matthew 11 might be worth hearing.
Jesus says:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Notice who He’s inviting.
Not the people who have everything figured out.
Not the people who never question.
Not the people who have lived perfectly.
The weary.
The burdened.
Maybe you don’t need to understand everything before you start.
Maybe the starting point can simply be:
God, I don’t know.
I don’t understand.
I’m tired.
But if You’re there, meet me here.
That’s enough of a beginning.
Maybe Today I Needed This Too
And maybe that’s my personal connection today.
I feel off.
My circumstances haven’t dramatically changed since this morning.
I didn’t finish reading and suddenly feel amazing.
But I did feel better.
And perhaps I don’t need to analyze that any further than I already have.
Maybe today was simply another reminder:
Keep going.
Keep doing what you believe is right.
Keep helping.
Keep writing.
Keep praying.
Keep noticing.
Don’t require an immediate result from every good thing you put into the world.
Don’t decide something isn’t working simply because you haven’t reached the next chapter yet.
Joseph couldn’t see what was coming.
He could only decide what he was going to do with where he was.
And he kept going.
Maybe that’s enough for me today too.
What I’m Taking With Me
I think there are days when Scripture gives us answers.
There are days when it gives us questions.
And there are days when it simply gives us an example.
Today, Joseph gave me an example.
Do the right thing because it’s right – not because you’re guaranteed something in return.
Don’t allow what someone else does to determine who you become.
Don’t stop participating in your life while you’re waiting for it to change.
You don’t need to see the next chapter to keep living this one.
And when you’re tired?
You don’t have to pretend you’re not.
Jesus already told us who can come:
The weary and the burdened.
Maybe faith begins there more often than we realize.
Questions I’m Leaving With
Am I doing good because it’s who I want to be – or because I’m hoping for something in return?
Have I allowed someone else’s actions to change the way I treat people?
Am I so focused on getting to the next chapter that I’m missing what I can do with this one?
What gifts, opportunities, or people are already in front of me today?
And if I don’t know what I believe yet, am I willing to simply ask God to meet me where I am?
Today’s Takeaway
You don’t have to know how the story ends to decide who you’re going to be in the chapter you’re living.
Do good anyway.
Help anyway.
Love anyway.
Keep going anyway.
And if you’re tired along the way?
Come as you are.
Until next time… keep noticing.