IN the Old Testament, one person who had experiences similar to John’s was Joseph. What the enemy (or the aggressor) meant for evil, God turned it around for Joseph’s good too.
Joseph was a highly beloved child and a great dreamer. Joseph’s dreams (and the love shown to him by his father) provoked the envy of his brothers. When the opportunity presented itself, theyhatched an evil scheme against him. They threw him into a pit. Then they sold him into slavery and lied to their father that wild animals killed him.
Joseph was godly and God-fearing. We read in the Psalms that,
Psalm 145: 18 – 19The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;He also will hear their cry and save them.
This was true concerning Joseph, even though he lived many generations before these words were penned. In Potiphar’s house, the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39: 2). It did not take long before they noticed that Joseph was special. Soon, Potiphar handed over all his affairs to this slave, Joseph (except, of course, Potiphar’s wife). Potiphar noticed that God was blessing him because of Joseph, and so he relied more and more on Joseph.Strangely, Potiphar’s wife decided to become a source of temptation to Joseph. She made overtures to Joseph and actively attempted to drag him into sexual sin. This was how Joseph expressed his objection:
Genesis 39: 8 – 9 …“Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
After the wife tried and tried, but could not succeed with Joseph, she turned against him and got the husband to send innocent Joseph to prison. However, even in the prison, the Bible says,
Gen 39: 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gavehim favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
The keeper of the prison soon made Joseph a leader in the prison too. After a few years, God orchestrated circumstances to bring Joseph before King Pharaoh. When Joseph finished speaking with Pharaoh, the king also acknowledged that God was with Joseph:
Genesis 41: 38And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”
At the end of it all, the presence of God made the difference in Joseph’s life. Joseph became the prime minister in a foreign land, and he became an iconic personality.
Did people conspire against you? Just ensure that God is with you. It will all turn out for your good.
