The House of Potiphar - Joseph Continued
We can be tricked into believing that we are the only one going through a hard time, or have extremely difficult circumstances going on in our lives that no one, not even God knows how hard it is. But God does know. He sees everything. Don’t lose hope, come and find rest in El Shaddai - The All - Sufficient God - the God Who moves mountains, “The Overpowerer!” Come find rest for your soul and hope for your heart in today’s episode. Join now!
Diana’s Notes
Alive in 2025
Hello! Hello! !! I am your host Diana, and welcome to today’s episode of Joseph: Scene 2. The House of Potiphar. On heartfelt Conversations with Diana.
If this is your first time joining in, then I invite you to check out all of our other podcast episodes and additional resources like my playlist. Click on Thirst Quenchers on the HOME PAGE, scroll down to Songs That Stand Out and click on View Full Playlist and I believe you will find an incredible list of songs to refresh your souls and lift up your spirit as we learn to lean into all that God has for us! So, I hope you check the songs out because I have chosen them, hoping to bring healing to your heart, just like they have in my own.
SO, Welcome to the conversation and I hope you leave feeling uplifted, encouraged, and empowered to live your best life ever. To fully come alive in 2025!
During our last conversation, we glimpsed into the life of Joseph and the resentment that stirred in his brother's hearts toward him. At around 17, Joseph’s brothers became so filled with anger, jealousy, bitterness, and resentment towards their half brother that they plotted to kill him. Instead, they were so kind that they spared his life and sold him as a slave. HAHA - kidding about being so nice.
That is just crazy!!!! We can be tricked into believing that we are the only one going through a hard time, or have extremely difficult circumstances going on in our lives that no one, not even God knows how hard it is. But God does know. He sees everything. Like our verse last week said. God sees the evil and the good. Nothing escapes His attention. But, when we try to take matters into our own hands, He steps back, the gentleman that He is, and says, okay, you do it your way, and when you have had enough misery, put it down and I will show you what I can do! And as Romans 8 says, God will work out all things to the good, for those who trust Him, who lean on Him, who turn to Him and wait for His perfect timing.
Joseph endured an attempted murder plot against his life, slavery, rejection, false accusations that landed him in prison for years, and in his darkest, most loney, unjust, cruel days of his life, Joseph clung to his faith in God. Joseph believed that God had something great for him and even though every angle of his life looked like defeat from anyone else's perspective, Joseph knew his God. He knew at any moment God would intervene. And God did!
I believe in Episode 4 we read the account of Joseph's brothers plotting to kill him and throwing him in a pit and then deciding to sell him. They covered his special coat in animal blood and convinced their father, Jacob, that his favorite son was killed by a wild beast.
So, Joseph has been sold. Once the favored son of Jacob, one of the most prominent figures in the Old Testament. According to scripture Jacob was exceedingly wealthy. So Joseph went from being well-off, pampered, having a posh life to …….. a life of the unknown. He has gone from being the favorite in the house, to having no house, no family, no future, or so it seems from the outside looking in.
Now, just to give you some idea of who Joseph is, he is the great grandson of Abraham, and the grandson of Issac. Joseph comes from a line of men that God blessed and favored because they sought the LORD, their God.
So we will pick up with the next scene of Joseph being sold into slavery.
Genesis 39:1-6: Joseph in Potiphar’s House NLT version
1When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
Listen to this first line in verse 2- Repeat Bold portion
2The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
Now, come on somebody!!! That in itself speaks of our God’s goodness and care for us. Even when people meant to destroy Joseph, to take away any dream or vision or hope he had of God’s blessing and favor for him, even though others intended to enslave Joseph, prevent him from a good life, even though all the odds were against Joseph - God was there in the midst of it all. Even as a bought and paid for slave, God blessed Joseph with favor so that he was elevated to the very top position of service. What did Joseph do, he simply served his new Egyptian master with stellar attitude and effort. His lowered level of ranking did not lower his standards of serving his God, and God saw his heart, his attitude, and blessed him right where he was at!!! Our God is AWESOME!!
Listen to Isaiah 41:10: Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (NLT)
Other people, circumstances, our situation may not be in our favor, but with God on our side, we do not need to even worry about ourselves because God promises if we trust Him, if we believe He is for us, if we follow His ways, whom shall we fear??? No one and Nothing!!! Because God will strengthen us, He will hold us up with His victorious right hand. God is not limited by our situation, but we can limit His presence when we shut Him out. Trust me, we do not want to block God from any space of our life. He can bless us when others mean to curse us, destroy us. Harm us. When we fully lean on God, nothing is impossible which means that ALL THINGS ARE NOW POSSIBLE.
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?
Hard times will come, we all have struggles, and trials and things we wrestle with, but when we keep our eye fixed on Jesus full of hope and faith - then nothing that comes against us will be successful in the end.
Joseph’s brothers were so filled with envy that they lost their humanity towards their very own brother and they plotted against their own brother. People can be against us and try to lie about us, steal dreams and visions, and try to cast us down with fear and rejection. Oh, they can try but in the end, God will always lift us up out of their schemes when we let go and let Him do His thing.
I am just learning that when I apply this biblical principle, I almost laugh now when I see His handy work in my own life. I have had people try to bring me down, destroy my reputation, injure me in some way- but I am learning not to respond, but just wait a bit, take my hurt and rejection and fear to God, and then He always straightens it out and later, the truth comes out and I am lifted up higher in status and trust. Not only in my life, but in my relationship with God. I went from feeling estranged by God and with God, to barely knowing Him, somewhat knowing Him, to now knowing Him as God AND as my Father, when I entered into that relationship my whole perspective began to correct itself and I began to know who I am. I am now the daughter of the One true Living God, A daughter to the King of Glory and I have been crowned with His goodness, His favor, His blessing over my life.
Let these scriptures stir you up to receive the goodness of God-
Psalm 65:11: You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
2 Corinthians 9:10: Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Philippians 4:19: And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Like Joseph, I was a slave, a slave to shame and guilt. I imprisoned myself and I lived in a self made prison, but once I put my trust in God and believed His plan for my life, like Joseph, and now I can see that - The Lord is with me and I see the Evidence of His GOODNESS ALL Over My Life!!!! As I serve Him, follow Him through the power of His Spirit, Alive and active in my life. My Living Water.
As I learn to trust His plan, His timing, and I seek His face and not the approval of others (because that only leads to an up and down life led by emotions )- but when we surrender to the full knowledge of God’s goodness toward us, through being led by His Spirit, we are able to let go of the things that would normally steal from our life and we wait for God to reveal His victorious right hand to us. Like Joseph, when hard times come crashing down on us we must learn to continue to carry the integrity of living a good moral life no matter what comes against us. I am not talking self- defense, I am talking about causing harm to another human life because you do not like them, you do not agree with them, you don’t like their looks, you decide to be judge and jury - then we place ourselves above God and we will find ourselves left to the destruction we cause. BUT, if we can simply learn to keep our eyes fixed on keeping our peace, our right mind- so to speak - then we have nothing to fear - God will bless us in ways no one can steal, but everyone can see.
Just like in verse 3 of Genesis where Potiphar saw God blessing Joseph
So the Lord was blessing Joseph even though Joseph was a slave. Get that, if you do not feel like you have hope for a good life. If you feel imprisoned by walls of unhappiness, defeat, depression, fear, rejection, you are broken in spirit and just exist in life hoping maybe one day something will change but you have no real confidence that it ever will - well guess what?? God’s word says follow Him, keep your eye on Him and walk in His ways and even your enemies, those who mean evil against you ,can prevent God’s blessing from you. Joseph served the LORD by trusting Him with his life as Joseph learned how to become a peace-seeking servant. Remember Joseph was once the chosen son of Jacob, Adorned with a prestigious coat of many colors signifying his importance and now he was a slave.
So now Joseph is in the home of his Egyptian master and we pick up with Verse 3
3Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned
Why do you think Potiphar put Joseph in charge? Because he was kind? NO! Because he was honoring God? NO! No, Potiphar did it for the reason a lot of people make decisions- what’s in it for me??
God knew Potipher would see Him blessing Joseph and everything he did, so Potipher decided to cash in on the investment opportunity! LOL
Okay, maybe that is my version of the story!! LOL
God knows what motivates us, God even knows our enemies and He knows how to move the mountains, the obstacles, the personalities and strongholds we can’t. Like we mentioned last week, one of God’s many Names is El Shaddi - The All - Sufficient God - the God Who moves mountains, “The Overpowerer,” meaning God will do what He purposes to do, overpowering all opposition.
Did you hear that!!! He is the OVER! POWERER! There is no power above Him. He is above all things.
And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [He is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] Colossians 1:17: AMP
John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. / He was with God in the beginning. / Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
Hebrews 1:3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Revelation 4:11: “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”
1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.
Yes, Joseph learned to adapt to his environment and lived in peace and harmony now as a slave, waiting on God to deliver him, to rescue him out of this conundrum. Joseph knew God was an OverPowerer and at any moment could change this whole situation. So he served and he waited for God to make His move.
Joseph found himself in very confusing and difficult circumstances, but he was able to keep his composure, to hold onto peace and confidence, in spite of his circumstances because he remained diligent in his faith and trust in his God and not his emotions or feelings of hurt and betrayal and anger.
Psalm 56:11: I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? (NLT)
Psalm 112:7: They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. (NLT)
Joseph knew and trusted in God’s justice. Remember last week we read that Biblical justice in scripture says this -
He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you -Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]
That is Micah 6:8 in the Amp bible
Joseph did not scream hey, do you know who you are messing with?? I am important!!! He was not overblown with self-importance but did what he knew God would expect of him, to be humble, to be kind, and God would handle the justice part.
Last week we asked what happened to Joseph as a slave. Well, God poured His favor all over Joseph so that he became a hot commodity that Potipher took him in and even though Joseph was a slave he was the top slave, so that is pretty cool. But, trouble was not over for Joseph, evil was still up to no good!
Next week, we’ll chat about a sneaky little temptation that tries to slither in on Joseph.
But until then, let’s focus this week on just being diligent right where we are. Whether we are housekeepers, or shopkeepers, or coffee shop owners, or students, or just frozen by fear and unable to get traction going in any consistent direction- this week let us calm our thinking, breathe in and exhale out, slow down and just walk at a comfortable pace this week with whatever is before us, knowing that if we hold onto our peace, like Joseph, we will keep our integrity and our composure and decide to trust God for today, this day, and let Him direct our steps onto the best path for us.
1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
To give you additional encouragement on your journey, I have put a link to the Pastor’s podcast: Trusting God with your future - on the notes for this week. I hope you have a chance to listen and find that you can have confident HOPE in our Living God.
You can find the link of the their podcast on -
Heartfeltconversations.com -https://www.heartfeltconversations.com/
Remember! You do not have to be overcome with evil and bad in your life! 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?
Got it?? GOOD! LOL
God bless and I will see ya next Time!
And a few other links as well
Steven Furtick: Triggered Taking Back Your Mind in the Age of Anxiety
JimmyEvans: The time is Now to Change Your Attitude
https://endtimes.substack.com/p/the-time-is-now-to-change-your-attitude
Beth Jones: Getting a Grip on the Basics is a great resource to help you get the basics of how vital you are to God and how good He desires to be to you
https://www.thebasicsuniversity.com
Songs to inspire you
Worthy | Live | Elevation Worship
Make A Way (feat. Chandler Moore & Brandon Lake) | Elevation Worship
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
Steven Furtick: Triggered Taking Back Your Mind in the Age of Anxiety
Jimmy Evans: The time is Now to Change Your Attitude
https://endtimes.substack.com/p/the-time-is-now-to-change-your-attitude
Beth Jones: Getting a Grip on the Basics is a great resource to help you get the basics of how vital you are to God and how good He desires to be to you
https://www.thebasicsuniversity.com
Joyce Meyer: The Mind is a Battlefield - https://joycemeyer.org
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/