READING: Genesis 38-40
The enemy we face is sly, and he doesn’t miss an opportunity to try to take down one of God’s own men or women. In fact, I doubt we can be too careful in recognizing his schemes and attacks.
Joseph learned that truth the hard way in today’s reading. He was clearly God’s called man, as these texts remind us:
Gen. 39:2 “The Lord was with Joseph. . . “
Gen. 39:3 “. . . His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did.”
Gen. 39:20 “But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. . . “
God blessed him and used him, and still he was susceptible to the wiles of the devil. Potiphar’s wife had made numerous, blatant, shameless attempts to sleep with Joseph (a young, good-looking man she had noticed), but he rightly rejected her advances. She could not pull him into her proposed sin.
Sometime later, though, he went to Potiphar’s house to do his work, and Potiphar’s wife was the only one present. Again, she pursued Joseph, and again he rejected her offer. This time, though, she grabbed him by the cloak — and she was left with his cloak in her hand when Joseph fled.
That was just enough ammunition for her. She screamed rape, naming the Hebrew Joseph as her attacker. Potiphar was so angry when he heard that accusation that he cast Joseph into prison.
How did that happen? Simply stated, Joseph went into Potiphar’s house when none of the other servants was available, and it cost him. He was faithfully doing his duties, but still he found himself in a “he said/she said” controversy. He was alone in the house with Potiphar's wife, and she leveled him with an accusation he could not refute since no one else was present.
Hear the warning here: if you put yourself in a vulnerable position — intentionally or unintentionally — you might face the arrows of a vicious, sly enemy who wants you to fall. The king of liars is not afraid to raise up a false accuser against you, so don’t help him by putting yourself in a position that could look like apparent compromise. Stay away from any form of evil (1 Thess. 5:22).
ACTION STEPS: Consider these steps today:
- Answer this question for yourself: “Am I, without thinking much about it, putting myself in a position of vulnerability anywhere?”
- Strive to avoid any situations that might invoke a “he said/she said” battle you cannot easily win if just the two of you were together alone.
- Ask the Lord to be with you in a special way today, bringing blessings on even those around you.
PRAYER: “Lord, I don’t want the enemy to win in my life today. Show me any place where I may have unknowingly or knowingly made myself vulnerable to attack and accusation.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Genesis 41-42