Travelling by bus over a long distance can be quite relaxing—unless the bus driver leaves you stranded at a service station. This happened to 45 passengers. They waited 8 hours overnight for a replacement driver after the original driver abandoned them. The delay and anxious wait for rescue must have been frustrating.

Joseph probably shared those feelings when he landed in prison for a crime he didn’t commit (Gen. 39). Abandoned and forgotten by everyone, he was stranded. Still, “the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favour” (v.21). Eventually, the prison warden promoted Joseph to oversee fellow inmates, and whatever Joseph did, “the Lord made it prosper” (v.23). But despite God’s presence and blessing, Joseph remained in prison for years.

You may be stranded in a training camp or a country far from home, feeling like you’re in your own inner prison cell. No matter where you are, or how long you’ve been there, God’s mercy and kindness can reach you. Because He is God Almighty (Ex. 6:3) and present everywhere (Jer. 23:23-24), He can protect, promote and provide for you when it seems no one else can help.

God is present—even when we feel He is absent.

Author

Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Topics

Our Daily Bread