(Gen. 39: 19 – 23)
In Gen 39:21, the Bible says “But the Lord was with Joseph, and He showed him mercy, and He gave him favor”. Ps. 23:4 says “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” How many of us have had the feeling of being caged before? As God’s children, the good and encouraging news for us is that we can be caged but we are not destroyed! John 16:33 says “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Proverbs 24:16 also says that the righteous may fall seven times but he will rise up again.
Joseph experienced a similar situation
in life. Although God gave him a dream, his brothers planned to
frustrate his dream by selling him into slavery.
1. He was stranded in prison for a sin he did not commit. (Genesis 39)
2. He was abandoned and forgotten by his link man (Chief Butler)
Even though Joseph was alone and at a distance from his friends and
relatives who could comfort him or minister to him, God never abandoned
him. In the midst of all this confusion, the Bible says in Gen.39: 21-22
”But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison”
You may feel caged in a situation of life, in a hospital with sickness,
in a country far from home, jobless, barren financially and otherwise,
you feel time is running out on you and you have not received an answer
from God!
I have good news for you! Jesus is still on the throne. You can be caged
for a season but can never ever be destroyed by the circumstance. Why?
Because God promised in Heb. 13:5 that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Apostle Paul testified of his life experience in II Cor. 11:25 “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea.” He knew what being naked was; and hunger and thirst, and abandonment. He was imprisoned several times. He was falsely accused and arrested for what he did not do. But Paul’s life reminds us that we may think we are at the end of the rope, but we are never at the end of hope. God can turn your captivity around within the twinkle of an eye. Ruth and Hannah’s captivity was turned around; Mordecai and Joseph’s captivity was turned around.
What do you need to do when feel caged by the circumstances of life?
1. Praise your way through your caged moments like Paul and Silas (Acts 16)
2. Pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17)
3. Study the Bible for yourself. It has an answer to every problem (Joshua 1:8)