A Providential Pit
Although just a servant in Potiphar’s house, Joseph became very successful. It was no secret that the Lord was the reason for Joseph’s success. Even Potiphar knew this, which led him to entrust everything he had to Joseph’s charge. But one day that all changed. Potiphar’s wife, upset she could not attain Joseph to satisfy her sexual desires, lied to the men of her household, and then to her own husband, accusing Joseph of trying to rape her (Gen. 39:1-18). So Potiphar put Joseph in prison. But the same Lord who was present with and prospered Joseph in Potiphar’s house was present with and prospered him in prison (Gen. 40:1-22).
When you’re in distressing circumstances, it’s hard to rest in God’s providence. Just ask the young married couple who recently buried their first child, or the mother who just learned her son has leukemia. Speak with the couple who is facing great financial loss after years of smart planning and saving. Talk to the woman who has just been served with divorce papers after finding out her husband is in love with another woman. Ask the man who is caring for his aging parents, watching them decline rapidly after serving God faithfully for a lifetime. Speak with the college student whose accident has impacted his or her life forever. Or talk to the young adult who is grieving over a broken engagement. In the midst of trials it is hard to remember that God is providentially bringing His purposes to pass through the very circumstances we are tempted to despise. But the story of Joseph’s life in Genesis 37 and 39-41 reminds us that we can trust God whether we’re in the pits or palaces of life.
From Pit to Potiphar
Joseph was the favored son of Jacob, so it’s no surprise that his brothers hated him. Their anger only intensified when Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father, and told his brothers about his dreams that revealed he would rule over them. One day, while on his way to check on his brothers for his father, Joseph’s brothers spotted him from afar and made a plan to kill him. But Reuben came up with a different plan to spare Joseph’s life. They would strip him and throw him into an empty pit with no food and no water.
While Reuben was away, likely tending the flocks, the other brothers saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt, and Judah suggested they sell their brother. So they lifted Joseph out of the pit and sold him for a slave’s price. When Reuben returned he was greatly distressed (Gen. 37:30). Sadly, the brothers concealed their dirty deed with the blood of an animal. They dipped Joseph’s robe in the blood and showed it to their father, who concluded a fierce animal had devoured Joseph and deeply grieved the loss of his son. In the meantime, Joseph was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers.
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Why Did Jesus Use Animal Metaphors to Prepare His Disciples for the Mission of God?
Jesus calls us to learn about our enemies and about ourselves—and to spread the aroma of Christ through the world by the ministry of the word for the salvation of the elect. To this end, he bids us understand that we are like sheep in the midst of wolves, so that we will seek to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.
One of the remarkable features of Jesus’ teaching is the way in which he drew simple analogies and metaphors from the world around him in order to instruct his disciples about the most profound truths of the kingdom of God.
Jesus spent much time reading the book of nature. He could point to a simple flower in order to explain to his disciples the mystery of God’s providential care and provision for them (Luke 12:27). Some of Christ’s most impactful illustrations came from the agrarian culture in which he lived and traveled. He expended prolonged periods of mental energy meditating on the birds of the air and the livestock that flooded the Palestinian landscape. At the inauguration of his missionary enterprise, Jesus gathered the twelve to himself and said to them,Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.(Matt. 10:16–20)
Jesus is preparing his disciples for spiritual warfare in Matthew 10:16-20.
In a day when Christians have all but lost the culture war in America—and the prospect of the persecution of true believers is imminent—it is incumbent on us to listen carefully to what the Savior told his disciples upon their first missionary journey. In the ancient wartime manual, The Art of War, Sun Tzu explained,If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
In Matthew 10:16-20, Jesus is essentially giving his disciples his manual of spiritual warfare for the mission of God. The danger of the task that lay before the disciples required a clear illustration from the Savior regarding the way in which they should prepare themselves for the opposition they would encounter.
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Prayer Tips: When to Pray
Our problem is not a lack of resources. But one other thing is clear: we must make time to pray and praise God. If we cannot make and keep appointments with our Triune God, our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, like any other, will suffer. The invitation is this: have a plan and follow it, pray spontaneously as well, and let all your time be lived out in the presence of our gracious God.
In the early days of his Christian walk, someone said, “I just don’t seem to have time to pray!” A mentor responded in a gentle tone with a stubborn and convicting principle: “you make time for your priorities.” Yet, the question of when to pray is a potent one in the distractedness and business of modern life with its constant connectivity, appointments, virtual appointments, pings, and notifications. Even if we know better than to make excuses for ourselves, the believer who claims a relationship with the living God is commendably concerned about both the quantity and quality of time spent in prayer. While we should clearly pray whenever moved by some external or internal prompting, anything worthy of our attention deserves a dedicated time, no less so the life of prayer.
Seeming to undermine our subject, the Apostle Paul writes these challenging words: “Pray without ceasing.” (1Th 5:17)[1] Assigning a time to prayer would seem too limiting for so grand an activity if we ourselves were not constrained to live one moment after another with a restricted band of attention. Paul’s meaning in the context and in comparison with other texts seems to be that we should not stop praying through changing circumstances that may tempt us to give up (cf. Luke 18:1), in which case it’s the persistence rather than the frequency of our prayers that he has in view. He may also be thinking of maintaining a posture of prayerfulness at all times. But again: anything worthy of our attention deserves time devoted to it.
The Psalmist exclaims, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.” (Psalm 119:164)
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Truthful Thinking Is Greater than Positive Thinking
Truthful thoughts are greater than positive thoughts because truth sets us free (John 8:32). Positive thinking is great when immersed in truth. But positive thoughts often get unhinged from reality, causing us to get stuck in cycles of frustration and deception.
Christianity claims that truth exists. Not my truth or your truth, but real, objective truth—a reality that is present whether we believe it or not and functions whether we exist or not.
Because truth exists, our thoughts matter. We must take every thought captive, making it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We must concern ourselves with things that matter to God, not merely things we believe will make our lives better, easier, or more enjoyable.
I regularly meet people who promote a worldview of positive thinking. In fact, there are religions and schools of thought that major in it. Such belief systems claim, to a greater or lesser degree, that positive thinking saves people from sin, grief, pain, brokenness, and even eternal damnation in hell. They’re attractive because they give us a sense of control. And in an age of chaos, a little control feels comforting.
In troubling times, advocates of positive thinking say things like, “Just think positive thoughts, and things will improve.” The assumption is that our thought patterns determine ultimate reality, not a being who exists and runs the universe regardless of our thoughts.
But can positive thinking actually save us? Can it rescue us from the brokenness of our lives? Can it heal us in a wholistic, soul-level kind of way?
There are at least two reasons why it cannot.
First, to live without truth is to live without healing. Said another way, a life without truth is a life of masking over problems. For example, when I’m anxious and think to myself, “I just need to conjure up a happy thought, and my anxiety will leave,” I’ll miss opportunities to address the source of my anxiety and find a lasting solution.
If I think about rowing a boat on a peaceful stream while my children are distraught and throwing toys at each other, I’ll miss the opportunity to parent wisely and be a person of reconciliation.
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