Redirected by Grace - Joseph Continued 5
Our flesh urges us to get upset about what we lack and what others possess, leading us away from God’s plan, and before we know it, our footing becomes unstable. We lose our sense of stability and risk falling. However, when we learn to follow God, even if someone tries to create chaos in our lives, He will guide us back on track. Allow God to show you the right path for your life. Step outside of your thoughts and listen instead! Join now!
Diana’s Notes
Alive in 2025
Hi Everyone !! I am your host, Diana, and welcome to today’s episode of Joseph: Scene 5. Here We Go Again- On Heartfelt Conversations with Diana.
Last week, we left off with little Mrs. Potiphar trying to be all hot and steamy with Joseph. As we read in Genesis 39, the Bible tells us, "And Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully." “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
We’ll go ahead and finish Joseph’s response back to her-
Genesis 39:8-12: But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her. One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside. She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.
So, with that, let’s pick back up with the scene of Joseph and the wife of Potiphar.
I am way beyond being a teenager or a young adult, but I still remember how easy it is to let emotions, feelings, hormones, and all the stuff sway your brain away from common sense but somehow it does. I am genuinely amazed at Joseph’s self-control and a little envious of his ability to remain clear-headed, no matter the outcome.
At a very young age, I felt the need to “earn my keep” to demonstrate my value. And I just hated tension in a room or someone not being happy with me, and in trying to be a pleasingly pleasant person (say that three times, goodness knows I'm here to share: STOP!!!!) LOL - I became a people-pleaser. If you don't know this already, I'm here to share: STOP! Be like Joseph, and leave your cloak and run! But stop doing things to please people. You will never, never, ever find joy, peace, happiness, and a whole and satisfying life by trying always to please people! I know, I've tried, and I became the most miserable person on the planet!
What’s up with all the p’s today!!! LOL
Well, if the Holy Spirit is into “p”’s today, then let’s look at what Proverbs has to say about being a people pleaser.
Proverbs 29:25 (AMP) - The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the LORD will be exalted and safe.
Joseph should have been a miserable person, considering his luck. But he didn’t see it as bad luck; he saw his circumstances as an opportunity to honor God through honest work and good ethics. His faith in Who God is is what gave him the strength to endure and to be still and wait on God.
Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I AM God.
Fear is the opposite of Love, caring, thoughtfulness, safety, and security. When we are constantly trying to please people, oftentimes, if we will just be quiet and still with God for a minute, He will gently show us that we do this out of fear. Fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, fear of failing or not being enough of, not being perfect. That is the life I led at the same age as Joseph.
However, not only did Joseph know he was highly loved and adored by his father, but Joseph also understood the power of faith. He knew his grandfather Abraham stepped out in faith to journey to a place God” would show him,” no idea where God said “go,” and he did! That is such astounding faith. I marvel at it.
Genesis 12:1: The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
What would we be like? What could we accomplish if we let God in and fear out? If we stepped out in blind faith because God called us to do something for Him, something beyond our ability, except He called, we responded.
Joseph was very familiar with great faith because Abram, Abraham, was Joseph’s great-grandfather!
Joseph thought he was going to do something great for God, and it would be easy for him to believe that because of his father Jacob, who was the son of Issac, who was the son of Abraham and Sarah. Perhaps his status and stature were impressive to God. His pedigree. Hahahaha
No, none of that means anything to God! Often, God will use people you would not even notice until He moves through them to do something miraculous.
1 Corinthians 1 26- 29: Look at your calling, believers; not many [of you were considered] wise according to human standards, not many powerful or influential, not many of high and noble birth. 27 But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the intense things [revealing their frailty]. 28God has selected [for His purpose] the insignificant (base) things of the world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, [even] the things that are nothing, so that He might reduce to nothing the things that are, 29so that no one may [be able to] boast in the presence of God.
Verse 31 goes on to tell us that nobody has the right to brag, to beat their fist against their chest like King David; no, anything good that has come into our life is by God. If we boast, let us boast in His goodness to us;
Verse 31: so then, as it is written [in Scripture], “HE WHO BOASTS and GLORIES, LET HIM BOAST and GLORY IN THE LORD.”:
But Joseph lost anything about himself that he could boast or brag about and went from a son in a predominant household - to an enslaved person in Egypt, bought and paid for property. How was his dream, his vision going to come true now???
And just when he adapted and had a good thing going, this crazy woman tries to get him to defy his owner, his master, the one who decided the fate of his life.
Joseph stood on Faith. Joseph stood on faith in God, not in himself or his own abilities. His faith was in the One True Living God, and he knew that no matter what mountains came into his path, Joseph knew the Mover of the mountains.
Isaiah 40:4
“Every valley shall be raised, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”
Isaiah speaks to God’s ability to remove obstacles and make a way where there seems to be no way. If we want the empowered life God has in store for us, then we must each learn from our own experiences that God can transform challenging circumstances into opportunities. Mountains represent difficulties and barriers, but God promises to flatten them for His people. This verse offers hope, assuring us that God will make our paths straight by removing hindrances in our lives when we earnestly seek His ways.
Isaiah encourages us to trust in God’s power to smooth out the rocky, rough paths of our lives.
I pray almost every day for God to intervene in my life. To go before me and smooth out all the little pebbles, stones, rocks, and any obstacle that tries to prevent me or distract me from His purpose for me that day. If I am rushed or hurried, it shows because those are the days when I sometimes fail to ask Him for help. But I have gotten much better at slowing down, not letting a hurried, hectic life keep me from the One Who will give me the wisdom, discernment, and insight to make wise decisions, the One Who can bless the work of my hands, The One Who can straighten out my paths, why would we not want to start our day before Him for just a few minutes. What a difference it makes! I can testify to that!!
However, Joseph’s faith, trust, and obedience to God’s ways, along with his integrity, did not prevent him from having to face personal loss and adversity once again.
I am sure Joseph must have thought, ‘ Now what? ‘ What else can happen while I am trying to do the right thing??!!! No matter what I do, I always end up on the losing end, God, and it isn’t fair!!!!! What the sigma, man! HAHAHAHA
I had to throw that in there for a delightful young man I work with, Isaiah. Isaiah, I love you dearly! You are now an adopted grandchild, and you can never escape my arms! LOL. Hopefully, a loving arm of support and encouragement like you have been for me! Much love, young man! Okay…
Joseph, doing the right thing, rejects the sexual advancements of Potiphar’s wife, and he runs out the door, not grabbing his Aviators, his iPhone, or his keys and coat, or as the bible says, But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.
He ran, the baby ran!
Good job, Joseph. We applaud your escape from the clutches of this seductress!! But why is it that whenever we do the right thing, wrong things seem to sprout up like weeds choking out our lives? It’s raining on our parade.
I used to feel that I wasn’t enough and didn’t have strong enough roots to let my faith keep me stable and steady. But now, over the past 9 years, yes, a 9-year journey out of the dark! I told you, I was lost! :) But nine years ago, I allowed God back in again. Then, as I grew in my relationship and trust with Him, about six years ago, I became more diligent, an all-in thing.
BUT!!! I had to learn to trust in His love for me and not allow myself the habit of seeking affection, acceptance, assurance from other people. Because that way of living would only lead me back to being frustrated all the time and not understanding why, I have now, from a tiny baby step to the next, found rest and peace for my soul; I would not trade that for anything in this world. Simply because I learned to trust and place my faith, confidence, and hope in Him. The learning sucked, to be honest. It is not an easy journey, but God will give you His ease and - and He turned them into beauty, His grace to get through when we are earnest and sincere.
God took the ashes of my life - like Joseph’s visions and dreams seemed to be heading, and He turned them into beauty - into beautiful seasons of calm waters and strong roots. At one time, I would have fallen for the snare of man we are warned about in Proverbs, but now my heart, my soul is seated and at rest in Christ, and my verse would look more like Psalms now. Here is
Psalm 56:3-4: When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. / In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be scared. What can man do to me?
Listen to
Jeremiah 17:7-8: But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear the heat, and its leaves remain green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
I know it may not seem possible, but when we learn to fully trust God, regardless of the situation, we can put our confidence in what He can do, not in what we can do, see, or think others can do. No! Our full, complete, lacking -nothing faith must be in Him alone!
But He can’t lead us beside calm, peaceful waters if we won’t follow Him. He is the ONLY ONE Who knows your path!
Psalm 23 from the Amplified Bible
The LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
2He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
3He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me on the path of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil;
My cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and the presence of the LORD.
Even when we are going through some of the most challenging circumstances, The Lord can lead us to a calm path; he can refresh your tired, weary soul, He can surround you with goodness and mercy, and His love for you is always unfailing, but the closeness of this relationship depends on you, on me. I had nothing to lose, so I went all in, and I was both ecstatic and a little sad. Sometimes, I wonder where I would be if I had held onto what little faith I had rather than letting it go out of bitterness, anger, pain, and shame.
But God wastes nothing! Diamonds can be made from ashes when they are released to Him.
And Joseph’s life is an excellent example of how God can take what looks like a hopeless situation, where bones dry up and dreams die. Joseph did the right thing and fled the advances of sexual temptations, but he still got railroaded. Yes, bad things can happen to good people, but we serve a God who takes dire circumstances and turns them into glorious opportunities, leading to career advancements and good things for us when we trust Him to work it out according to His plan.
Joseph ended up in jail, where they kept the prisoners of the King.
Genesis 39:13-20 (NLT): When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled,
she called out to her servants. Soon, all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew enslaved person here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.
When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”
She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home.
Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said.
“But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”
Joseph Put in Prison
Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her.
So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.
So, here we go again. Joseph went from being sold into slavery to where even though it sucked, God was blessing him; he was second in command to the king’s commander, and, all in all, no complaints given the situation. Then the crazy lady stirs up strife, and chaos and destruction re-enters into Joseph’s world, and now he is in prison. But God is not fooled; he is not overwhelmed or taken by surprise. No, God knows all the pieces of this chess game, and He has already won; the players don’t know it yet.
And that is where we will end today’s conversation!
I hope you have enjoyed stopping by, and mostly, I hope you heard an encouraging word or two!
And to give you additional encouragement on your journey, I have put a link to Pastor Alexa’s message, Joseph: A Determined Dreamer—-- on the notes for this week. I hope you have a chance to listen, and may you find confident HOPE in our Living God.
You can find the link to the message on -
Heartfeltconversations.com -https://www.heartfeltconversations.com/
Next week, we’ll conclude our study on Joseph and explore how his story can bring encouragement and strength to our lives today.
Remember! God is for you!!! He is the Power above any other power, and that same power is available to you.
Romans 8:31 in the AMP Bible tells us: What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?
Chin up!! LOL
Bathe in the goodness of God and rest in His Amazing Grace!
God bless, and I will see ya next Time!
Pastor Alexa: Weekend Service/Valley Family Church
Joseph: A Determined Dreamer | Pastor Alexa Jones
Pastor’s Podcast: Cutting Room Floor
Songs to inspire you
Forrest Frank - GOOD DAY (Lyrics)
Chris Tomlin - How Great Is Our God (Live In Nashville 2022) ft. Hillsong UNITED
Phil Wickham - This Is Our God (Official Music Video)
Foundation Verse
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living in you. “
Additional Resources
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born again, child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above, were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand new Christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana and we will pass along your information for you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you!
Diana’s Home Church:
Valley Family Church - Pastor’s Eric and Alexa Jones
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
Other recommended Jesus-centered churches who teach the True Word of God:
Elevation Church - Steven Furtick
https://elevationchurch.org/
Joseph Prince Ministries - Joseph Prince
https://www.josephprince.org/
Joyce Meyer Ministries
https://joycemeyer.org/