But the Lord was with Joseph

but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.

Verse 23, The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. Surely, that's why when Stephen summarizes this story in Acts chapter seven, he puts it like this.

And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions. and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh.

So all of Genesis 39, he sums up like this. God was with him and rescued him out of all of his afflictions. That's the main point. And the reason that's significant is because it helps us see that this is a story that's not primarily about Joseph, but about God. And therefore, the point isn't so much Be like Joseph as it is. We need God. We need his presence. Nothing more and nothing less. You see, if God is with you, it doesn't matter what trials you face. It doesn't matter if you've been abandoned, rejected, disowned by your family, sold as a slave in a foreign land. It doesn't matter if you're sorely tempted and tried, falsely accused, thrown in prison. If God is with you, it's enough. He's able to sustain you, able to support you, able to give you success no matter where you are. We need nothing more than the presence of God in our lives. But we also need nothing less, because Genesis 39 shows us the capriciousness of life. I mean, you can have it all. And in a moment, everything can be taken from you, even through no fault of your own. It's a cruel and unpredictable world. You see, if God wasn't with Joseph, what would have been left of him? We need the presence of God and nothing less. But even that doesn't fully capture the main point of this passage because we don't come to this passage as just random people reading a random story about God being with some random person. We read this as Christians. This is our God showing his covenant faithfulness to our forefather, Joseph. In other words, we glean too little this morning if we leave here today, just hoping or wishing that God would be with us. Because the rest of the Bible assures us that God is with us. You see, if we have come to Christ by faith, then we are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. As Jesus himself said before he ascended into heaven,

behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

So the point isn't just that we need God to be with us, it's that as God was with Joseph, so he will be with us. Earlier, Jack read Joshua 1, where God tells Joshua,

just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

You know, Joshua, you can look back on the way I protected Moses, the way I blessed him, the way I revealed myself to him, the way I gave him success, even when it seemed impossible. Joshua, I will be with you like that. Well, in the same way, we can read this story about Joseph. And it shows us what it means that God is with us and how we should live in light of that reality. So the message for us this morning is this, Christian, God is with you. So cherish it, protect it, and trust it. Cherish it, protect it, and trust it. Let's look at each of these in turn. Number one, God is with you, so cherish it. Look at verses one through the first half of verse six. Verse one begins,

now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt.

And this is a continuation of Genesis chapter 37, which I preached last year. And there we were introduced to Joseph as a 17 year old. He was the favored son of his father Jacob. And because of that, his 10 older brothers envied and hated him. Then Joseph had some dreams, and those made his brothers hate him even more, because according to his dreams, Joseph would one day rule over them. Then one day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers, who were out tending the flocks far from home. And in an effort to make sure those dreams would never happen, they wind up selling him as a slave. taking his coat, putting blood on it, and deceiving their father into thinking Joseph has been killed by wild beasts. Then Genesis chapter 38 tells us more about one of those brothers named Judah, because Judah actually turns out to be just as important to this whole story as Joseph is. Remember, this isn't a story that's really primarily about Joseph, so much as it's a story about God and his covenant faithfulness to his people. But now in Genesis 39, we get back to Joseph's role in this. And he's brought down to Egypt to be sold as a slave. And of course that means he would have been stripped, perhaps completely naked, lined up with other slaves at a market, then examined, his teeth checked, his muscles felt. I mean, just a humiliating and dehumanizing experience. And in the end, he's sold to a man named Potiphar. who's the captain of Pharaoh's guard. That's something like the chief of police. So he's a very powerful and important man in Egypt. And bear in mind that for many to be sold as a slave was something like an extended death sentence. If you were assigned to the field or to help making bricks, I mean, this was often such hard labor that it was hard to survive. But verse 2 tells us

The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

So in God's providence, Joseph's not assigned to the field, but to the house. And even though he's only 17 or 18 years old, God enables him to be extraordinarily successful. He does all of his work with wisdom, skill, excellence. It's like everything he touches just goes well. In fact, this is so evident that verse three says that even his pagan master saw that the Lord, that is Yahweh, was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So evidently Joseph had told Potiphar about the God of his fathers, and even Potiphar could see that the Lord was with him. And as a result of this, verse four says,

so Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, And he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

So over the course of what would have been roughly 10 years in Potiphar's service, Joseph just keeps getting promoted until he's in charge of everything Potiphar has. And verse 5 says,

from the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in house and field.

And this should recall for us the Abrahamic covenant because God had said to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12,

I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in or through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

And so we're seeing a partial realization of that through Joseph here. And because of this extraordinary blessing and success, Potiphar puts amazing trust in Joseph. Verse six says,

so he left all that he had in Joseph's charge. And because of him, he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Keep in mind, Joseph's only in his mid-twenties. He's already managing the whole household for this very important officer. It's almost like God is preparing Joseph with some very important skills here. But again, the main emphasis is simply the fact that God was with him. It's not Joseph's wisdom, ingenuity, or success. It's the blessing of God on his life. And Joseph has no allies, no friends, no family. He's the lone Hebrew surrounded by Egyptians. He's only 17 years old. He's already suffered the trauma of being nearly murdered and then sold by his own brothers, of being treated like an animal, being thrust into a foreign culture, a foreign language. You're having to work as a slave to survive. I mean, under normal circumstances, we'd say this is the kind of guy that's going to need counseling for the rest of his life. I mean, this is the person who just never even had a chance. But the one thing he has going for him is, but God was with him. And that's enough. That's all that counts. Now, the point isn't that God being with someone can be measured financially or by how far up a corporate ladder they climb. The point is, if God is with us, we will be successful in whatever he calls us to do or to be. I mean, for God to be with you isn't just an ingredient in the formula for success. It's everything. If God is with you, if God is for you, who can be against you? You know, remember Gideon and his 300 men and their battle plan against this huge army? We're gonna go break some clay pots, shout, and stand there. And it worked, because God was with them. And so when you think about trials in your life, when you think about your calling, your work, and you're asking questions like, how am I gonna make it through this trial? How am I possibly gonna provide for the needs of my child? How am I ever gonna make it through this situation at work? How will I pass this class? Will I ever find a spouse? Will I ever be the kind of husband or wife I'm called to be? Will I ever gain victory over this addiction or besetting sin? How will I ever be a more faithful witness and fulfill the calling that God has placed on my life to share the gospel? Well, friends, don't overcomplicate it. I mean, at the end of the day, there's really only one thing you need, and it's for God to be with you. It's not your strength. It's not your ingenuity. It's God. And brother, sister, He is. He is with us. Listen to what Paul says in Philippians chapter four.

Not that I am speaking of being in need for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in every and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

In other words, what Paul is saying there is, in any situation I find myself in, I have found the secret. I know how to find success. It's because God is with me. Christ is there to strengthen me. And note, this is not success in the way the world defines success. It's not success necessary in the way that we sometimes define success. It's success the way God defines success. Success to be content, and to please him, and to glorify him, and fulfill his calling on your life. Friends, that should be the most freeing, the most comforting, the most joyous thought for us as Christians. God is with us and he is with us to give us success. Just as he was with Joseph when he's all alone in Potiphar's house, just as he was with Joseph to give him success, even when everything else seemed to be going against him, God is with us to be that friend who sticks closer than a brother, to be that source of strength and comfort and blessing and all that we need. He forgives us. He upholds us. He sustains us. He transforms us. And the simple way we need to respond to that this morning is to cherish it. To rest in it. Savor it. Meditate on it. God is with you. As we'll sing at the end of the service,

Jesus, what a friend for sinners. Jesus, lover of my soul. Friends may fail me. Foes assail me. He, my Savior, makes me whole. Jesus, what a strength in weakness. Let me hide myself in Him. Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing. He, my strength. My victory wins. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a friend. Saving, helping, keeping, loving. He is with me to the end.

Christian, God is with you, so cherish it. Now secondly, protect it. Let's look at the second half of verse six through verse 12. And at this stage in the story, Joseph faces a new trial. So far, everything's gone well for him in Potiphar's house. God's been with him to give him favor, blessing, and success. But now we find one of Joseph's blessings actually leading to trouble. Verse six continues,

now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance, and after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, lie with me.

John Calvin comments,

whereas elegance of form was the occasion of great calamity to holy Joseph, let us learn not greatly to desire those graces of person which may conciliate the favor of the world. but rather let each be content with his own lot.

In other words, he's saying be careful what you wish for. Instead of coveting the good looks of someone else, trust God in whatever lot he's given you. Now we also need to think here about the quite shocking advances of Potiphar's wife. She begins by casting longing eyes on Joseph. probably initially hoping he would reciprocate her more subtle solicitations. But ultimately, she just comes out and brazenly says, lie with me. And then, according to verse 10, even after Joseph refuses, she persists. It says she spoke to Joseph day after day, just shamelessly pressuring him to commit adultery with her. And then the day comes when she finally gets Joseph alone. And verse 12 says she grabs him. Probably trying to use the feel of her own body to overcome his resistance. So she's aggressive, manipulative, sensual, unfaithful. In fact, she is the exact opposite of the godly woman described in 1 Peter 3. That woman is described as one adorned with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit and who, by her respectful and pure or chaste conduct, wins even a disobedient husband. Potiphar's wife is an embarrassment to her husband, and she has exchanged that imperishable beauty for the ugly gratification of carnal desires. She's a woman who's a slave of her own lust. And as such, she's also a picture of what you and I can become if we allow lust to govern our minds and choices instead of Christ. Are you regularly casting your eyes on others the way she cast her eyes on Joseph? Or have you made a covenant with your eyes like Job? Are you looking at things you ought not? Or are you obsessing over what you see in the mirror? Or are you casting your eyes on Christ and His Word? Jesus said,

the lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

So what are you allowing into your soul through the window of your eyes? It will shape who you turn out to be. Let's look at Joseph's response. And keep in mind that this is a man who's about 27 years old. He's single. He's alone. This is one who's already suffered the rejection of his own family, and now he's being flattered by this important woman. Further, Joseph has full authority over the whole household, every reason to be there and evade suspicion, every ability to conceal his actions. And this is a woman who's used to getting her way, and a woman who has the ability to either make things go really well for him, or make things go really ill for him. So this is a strong temptation if there ever was one. And yet, verse 8 says,

But Joseph refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness? and sin against God.

So he tries to talk some sense into her. This would be a betrayal by both of us of your husband, and even worse, sin against God. And then when she continues pressing him in verse 10, he says,

he would not listen to her to lie beside her or to be with her.

All right, so there's no reconsidering. His refusal is final. He doesn't listen to her requests, and he actively avoids her. When she comes into one room, he goes to the next. And then when she finally gets her opportunity to corner him alone, he literally runs away, leaving his coat behind. As Matthew Henry quipped,

it's better to lose a good coat than a good conscience.

See, Joseph here's a model of resisting temptation. This is how we should deal with it. In so many other places in scripture, we see people giving in. Think of Adam and Eve in the garden, David with Bathsheba, Solomon and the foreign women, Achan and the silver and gold, the Israelites and the Midianite women. Joseph is a glowing exception. So what's different? Well, first of all, we have to attribute this to the grace of God. Matthew Henry said,

Joseph's escape was for aught I know as great an instance of the divine power as the deliverance of the three children out of the fiery furnace.

In other words, just as much as the flames didn't burn Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because the angel of God was with him, The fire of temptation didn't consume Joseph because God was with him. You see, it's not ultimately our strength to resist temptation, but God's grace to preserve us. Isn't that why Jesus tells us,

pray lest you enter into temptation?

How foolish we are to fail to make use of God's infinite supply of grace. But secondly, let's look more closely at what Joseph says In verse 9,

how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

Not merely how can I do this inappropriate thing. How can I do this great wickedness? Not merely how can I betray my master's trust, but how can I sin against God? Joseph sees sin for what it is and who it's against. And therefore, there's no weighing, no contemplating, no considering. He doesn't make a list of pros and cons. It's just an immediate refusal to even entertain the possibility, how can I do this? It's unthinkable, egregious, out of bounds. Friends, that's the kind of resolve and clarity we need in fighting sin. Because the moment you entertain it, you've already begun to lose the battle. It's like you've already let Satan through your front door. So like Joseph, be swift in your rejection of sin. And not only that, notice the way Joseph speaks about God here. He actually begins in verse 8 by talking about Potiphar. All that Potiphar has done for him. How Potiphar has trusted him. You know, and so you might think when he gets to the end, he's going to say, how can I do this great wickedness and sin against Potiphar? But it's as if through all of this, as he thinks about Potiphar's dealings with him, he's looking beyond Potiphar to the God who has been blessing him through Potiphar. He sees that God has been with him, that God has been gracious to him. His first instinct in thinking about sin and temptation is not so much fearing the punishment of God. It's certainly not trying to earn the favor of God. It's more like he is protecting a relationship he has with God. It's as if he's saying, how could I betray the God who's been with me? Who's blessed me? Who's kept me and protected me? How could I so carelessly risk or abuse the gift of his presence? You see, the one thing God will not be with us in is sin. The Bible says God was with Joseph in slavery. He's with Joseph in prison. God was with Moses in the Exodus. He's with Joshua in the conquest. He was with David fleeing from Saul in the wilderness. He was with Solomon in building the temple. He's with Isaac during a famine in Gerar. He's with Jacob on the road to Haran. He tells his people,

when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you walk through the fire, you won't be burned.

Psalm 34 says,

the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the Christian spirit.

And Isaiah 55 even says that God is with the repentant.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

But God is not with his people in their sin. In Joshua 7, Achan steals from the devoted things and God tells his people,

I will be with you no more unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.

Remember King Saul at the beginning of his reign, he's told,

do what your hand finds to do for God is with you.

But at the end, Samuel says,

why then do you ask me since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? because you did not obey the voice of the Lord.

Now, my point is not that if you sin, you lose your salvation. Nor is it that the moment we sin, God, God will just abandon you forever. But my point is that even as believers, sin affects our relationship with God. We cannot be near to sin and near to God at the same time. That's why James Forrest tells us,

draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.

And so if we've sinned and we want God to be with us, we need to repent. And if we're tempted to sin, We need to ask ourselves, how valuable is the presence of God to me? You see, if you cherish the presence of God in your life, what are you doing to protect it? I mean, we would call a man a fool for living in a dangerous neighborhood and going to sleep at night with the front door of his house wide open. Is the presence of God in our lives any less worth protecting? Who are you hanging out with? Are you spending time with friends that you know are bad influences? Just opening the door for them to come into your life and influence you and cause you to sin and distance your relationship with God? Or are you watching or listening to things that arouse lustful or covetous or impure thoughts that push Christ away? Or are you harboring bitterness or anger? And instead of seeking reconciliation, you're letting the sun go down on your wrath and giving an opportunity to the devil. Or are you just allowing a million other things to crowd out your time with Christ in his word and prayer? And without even realizing it. You're trading the presence of Christ for lesser things. Friends, as we think about Joseph this morning, think about a man who fled sexual immorality because he feared God, he loved God, he cherished the presence of God, and so he was zealous to protect his relationship with God. May we do likewise. So Christian, God is with you. Cherish it. Protect it. And then thirdly, trust it. Let's look at verses 13 through 23. And at this stage, Joseph has just won a great moral victory. God was with him. Joseph was faithful to God. And so we might expect some immediate vindication. But instead we read in verse 13, that

as soon as Potiphar's wife saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, see, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came into me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lift up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.

Okay, so just moments after doing everything she possibly could to be with Joseph, now she does all she can to destroy him. And kind of like Amnon with Tamar, we see here that lustful love is actually a lot nearer to hatred. And in the lies she makes up, notice how she tries to win the other servants to her side. First, she blames her husband for this. probably trying to appeal to their sense of envy that he had placed Joseph over them. She says, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. She doesn't even call him my husband or our master, just he. It's flagrant disrespect. And then also notice that by saying us, she's cleverly framing this whole situation. It's not Joseph as one of the servants. It's she and the other servants as Egyptians versus Joseph the Hebrew. It's racist rhetoric. And she's using it to alienate Joseph and rally them to her side. And as much as that illustrates her shrewdness and cunning, it simultaneously warns us that people have been doing this for millennia. And we need to beware of those who use similar tactics today. Now, verse 16 continues,

Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home. And she told him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.

John Calvin comments,

Besides, she involves her husband in the accusation that she may compel him by a sense of shame to punish the guiltless. It is by thy fault, she says, that this stranger has been mocking me. What other course does she leave open to her husband than that he should hasten with closed eyes to avenge her for the sake of purging himself from this charge?

So he's commenting on how clever and manipulative she is. Verse 19 continues,

as soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me, his anger was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

And so Potiphar falls for it. And much like Joseph's brothers had previously used his coat to deceive Jacob, now Potiphar's wife uses another of Joseph's coats to deceive Potiphar. And the tragic irony is that in spite of 10 years of impeccable faithfulness, in mere seconds, Potiphar condemns the very man who had shown him the loyalty his own wife would not. Potiphar failed to follow Proverbs 18 verse 17.

The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him.

How careful we need to be about jumping to conclusions. But beyond that, I think Moses actually puts a finger on Potiphar's root flaw here. Because he specifically says that Potiphar's anger was kindled as soon as he heard the words. In other words, Potiphar wasn't slow to anger. He was quickly, easily, and all too predictably stirred to anger by his wife. And so she exploited that. And the warning is, if we are quick to anger like Potiphar, we too will become like mere puppets in the hands of those who wish to manipulate us. It's like we give people a button to control us. And just like mighty Potiphar was controlled by his wife, even children can control us. So remember James 1, verses 19 and 20.

Know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

And tragically, Potiphar's quickness to anger and gullibility cost him his most trustworthy and valuable servant, the very source of divine blessing on his household. And it simultaneously cost Joseph virtually everything. He's thrown into the prison of the king. And of course, the question this raises is, so what happened to God being with him? Why when Joseph was being so faithful, Would God allow this to happen? You know, when I visited Zambia last summer, Pastor Million gave me a book. It's about the spread of the gospel in Africa. And the foreword explained how the project began with the work of a long-time missionary couple, Dr. Randy and Kathy Arnett, and how the Arnetts had devoted their whole lives to the spread of the gospel in Africa and opposing the prosperity gospel. And then suddenly, in 2018, in the midst of their work, as they're traveling to a theological training event, they're both killed in a car accident, leaving behind two daughters who never got to say goodbye, and so much faithful ministry, which from our perspective was just simply cut short. Was God with them on the road? Or just two weeks ago, also in Africa, there was a bus carrying YWAM workers, that's youth with a mission. Truck's brakes failed, crashes into the bus, killing 11. 11 bright futures lost, 11 families grieving. Or maybe you don't even have to look out there because just in your own life, you faced darkness, sexual abuse, miscarriages, betrayal, the loss of your health, the loss of your career, your dreams being dashed, suffering that comes as no fault of your own, that just doesn't make sense. My friends, as we consider the story of Joseph this morning, it also assures us that God is with us even in the darkest providences of our lives. Because right after Joseph's falsely accused, right after Potiphar turns on him, right after he's thrown into prison, what does verse 21 say?

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.

As Matthew Henry said,

no gates nor bars can shut out God's gracious presence from his people.

This is the God who's ever faithful. ever true, who never leaves us or forsakes us. He is the God of steadfast love. Potiphar may have turned on Joseph, but God did not. And as we keep on reading, notice how it's like it labors to show us God's absolute control over the situation. At the beginning of the chapter, we read God was with Joseph in Potiphar's house. He gave him success. Joseph found favor in the sight of his master. So Potiphar placed him over all that he had, so much so that Potiphar had no concern about anything. Well, now we read that in prison.

God was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

This is a God who is absolutely sovereign. over every detail of the situation from beginning to end. Just as much as God was with Joseph in Potiphar's house, he is with Joseph in the prison. And the point of that is, it's not like there was this momentary lapse in God's protection of Joseph when Potiphar's wife accused him. Just like there wasn't a momentary lapse in God's protection of Joseph when his brother sold him as a slave. No, all of it is part of God's plan. You see, as you keep on reading this story, it becomes obvious that God used these events to prepare Joseph with the skills that he would need and to put Joseph in the perfect place at the perfect time so that he would become the ruler of Egypt and save many lives. And as impossible as that seems here. We kind of get God's perspective in the end because we can read the full story. But friends, as we read this, don't forget that for Joseph in the moment in living it. How could he have known that? I mean, surely he has no idea why God would place him in an Egyptian prison and let him be forgotten there. All he could do was trust God. And this morning we've been talking about cherishing the presence of God and protecting it in our lives. But friends, you can't cherish or protect something you don't think you have. We must trust that God is with us so that we can live in light of it. And that will not always be obvious based on the circumstances of our lives. You know, even the Apostle Paul, near the end of his life, he wrote to Timothy and he said,

I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come.

In other words, Paul's saying, I'm going to be executed soon. And he's just had a hearing. And he says,

at my first defense, no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

This is a man who is being condemned for the crime of preaching the gospel. And after all the churches he's planted, after all the people he has poured himself out for, risked his life for, none of them stands by him. If you were in Paul's shoes, would you conclude God has abandoned you? Listen to what Paul says.

But the Lord stood by me. and strengthen me so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Since I was abandoned by everyone, but not by God. And God rescued me. Not from physical death, but he rescued me from failing to fulfill my mission. He rescued me from fear and he gave me success. And Paul is saying now I can freely embrace death knowing it is but the entrance into his heavenly kingdom. May we trust in the presence of God like that. So Christian, God is with you. Cherish it, protect it, trust it. And as we close, I wanna say a final word to two groups of people. First, maybe you're here as a non-Christian, and hopefully you've noticed that everything I've said has been couched in, Christian, God is with you. So what does this mean for you? Second, maybe you're here as a professing believer, but you're really struggling with doubt. The things I'm saying about God using evil for good and being with us in trial just seem so unsatisfying for you in your dark providences of life. Well, I want both of you to see how this story of Joseph points beyond itself. Because the story of Joseph is about how he goes from being the beloved son of his father to leaving his father's side being humiliated as a slave, being buried and forgotten in a prison, only to suddenly be raised up to rule and save even the very people who hated him. And friend, in a wonderful way, this foreshadows and anticipates Abraham's greater seed and the fuller fulfillment of God's covenant promises. You see, Jesus, is the one who left his father's side to take the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. Jesus likewise suffered false accusation, was condemned, buried, only not in a prison, but in a tomb. And Jesus also rose to reign and to save even those who hated him. And so if you find it hard to trust that God could be with you in the dark circumstances of your life because they just seem so utterly unredeemable. Well, can you trust it when you look at Christ on the cross? See, this is not a God who's aloof, distant from our suffering, just sort of ordaining things for his plan with no real understanding of what we're going through. This is a God who's entered in to our suffering. Who in fact endured worse suffering than any of us ever have or ever will. Jesus bore our sins on the cross. He was crushed under the full weight of the wrath of God. So that whoever would repent and turn from their sin and trust in him can be freely and fully forgiven. And think of it. Jesus, as the son of God, endured being forsaken by his own father so that God could be with us. Will you not trust this God? Will you not turn from your sins and embrace the forgiveness and the grace and the love of God in your life? Not because you understand why, and you understand the reason behind everything that God plans and allows in this world, but because you see that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us in the brightest and the darkest hour of our lives. So amen, let's pray. Heavenly Father, how we thank you this morning that you are with us, that you are gracious to us, that you forgive us, that you redeem us, and that you are with us through all of the trials and tribulations of this life so that we can be successful. Not with our own idea of success, but successful to live for you, to fulfill your calling, and to bring you glory with our lives. And so how we pray that you would strengthen us for that, for your glory. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.