The story of Joseph is one of the most compelling narratives in the Hebrew Bible.  His jealous brothers sell him into slavery.  As a result of a false accusation of sexual assault, Joseph finds himself in prison.

“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailor. The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.”  (Genesis 39:21-22)

As we read on in the story, we see that Joseph remains honorable and faithful in virtually every setting even when he is horribly misunderstood and unjustly punished. 

Even a blockhead like me can get the point of the story.  Namely: even if you find yourself in a bad spot which you don’t deserve to be in, you can be the shining example of honor and fidelity.  If you find yourself in prison, be the best prisoner imaginable and in doing so you will bless the other prisoners.

That’s the moral of the story, but what if you just don’t want to be the best person in the bad situation?  What if you just want to be delivered from prison?  The biblical text never reveals Joseph’s inner life to us, but I can well imagine there were times when Joseph wanted to give up. 

The interesting thing about the story is that Joseph never expresses confidence that he is going to escape his fate.  He doesn’t say to himself, “God is going to get me out of this mess,” or “By doing the right things, I will finally get justice.”  Nope.  He does ask the person he helps to put in a good word for him (which the person he helped utterly failed to do), but he never seems to expect the universe to reward his good behavior.

Today you may feel like Joseph in prison.  You may be tempted to give in to (justifiable) self-pity.  Try not to do it.

Be your best self in a bad place. 

Not because it will bring about a change in your circumstances.  It may not. 

Be your best self in a bad place because you are in good company.  Jesus, who gave himself up to suffering and death, is with you in every tight spot and painful season of life. 

Prayer:  God of life, when I walk through the places of deep shadow, let me feel your hand in mine and I will keep putting one foot in front of another.  Amen.