Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master…From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
Genesis 39:1-3, 5 Have you ever read the story of Joseph in Genesis? He had a difficult childhood and went through many trials and tribulations, but God was with Joseph all the time. Joseph is an excellent example for you to learn from his life as you pray for your marriage to be resurrected from the dead. I hope you will read the story in Genesis Chapters 37-50. Joseph had a dream and told his family about it. It made his brothers very jealous and they hated him. While Joseph’s brothers were taking care of the sheep, their father sent him to go and find his brothers. They saw him from a distance and planned to kill him. But God had a plan and intervened. The brothers ended up selling him to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt. Instead of Joseph being killed, he was blessed by God and Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials who bought Joseph and put him in charge of his household and everything he owned. Potiphar trusted Joseph completely, but his master’s wife tried to seduce Joseph many times. Let me share how Joseph handled this very difficult circumstance: …Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. Genesis 39:6b-10 How are you being tempted? Are you being tempted to give up on your marriage and “move on” with your life as there is no sign that your spouse will ever come back home? Have you started to leave God out of your daily life? What about His plan and purpose for your future? Let’s go back and continue to read about the temptations that Joseph was having to battle. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house…She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. Genesis 39:11-12, 16-20 Learn from Joseph. He ran out of the house just as you need to run from any type of ungodly situation every time the enemy tempts you. Pray that your spouse will do the same. As you pray, ask the Lord to give your husband or wife the character, the integrity, the wisdom, and the knowledge of knowing what sexual immorality will do to them, your marriage and family. Pray that your spouse will flee from the enemy, who has them so entangled in their sin, and repent to God. Pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to them multiple times a day to stop sinning, to purify their hearts and call on Him in true repentance. God’s nearness will bring His presence, His mercy, His grace, His peace, His love and His divine directions to your spouse. Never stop praying and expecting your spouse to run to God and run back home! You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God…Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:4-7-10
