Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand. No one is greater in this house than I am, and he has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”“
(Genesis 39:8-9)

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds. Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.””
(Matthew 16:24-28)

Joseph refused to abuse the trust of his master Potiphar. He refused to dishonour the sanctity of marriage. And He refused to indulge in adultery which was against the moral, ethical, and religious principles that he learned in his father’s house. It was not a painless refusal. It cost him his favoured position in Potiphar’s household (the best position he could hope for as a slave). It got him cast into a prison that he lived in for the next two years plus a bit. There wasn’t a lot of hope in his situation. But he wasn’t bitter toward his brothers. He wasn’t angry at them or at God. He wasn’t even angry at Potiphar or his wife. He chose not to be those things. Instead, he chose to do his best wherever he found himself. Do his best according to his morals (learned from his father) and his God (also learned from his father). In spite of hardship, Joseph chose to honour God and God’s point of view.

Jesus never hid from His disciples – or us – that following Him would have difficulties. That it would come with people persecuting them BECAUSE they were following Jesus. The ungodly do NOT like to be reminded of their ungodliness (John 3:20). Deep down their own consciences know that there is a God (Romans 1:21) AND that they are doing wrong (Psalm 51:3-5). When they see godly behaviour and words promoting a godly lifestyle – even if it isn’t directed at them personally – their OWN consciences get pricked, they feel guilty, and they choose to emote negativity towards whoever is being godly or talking godly. That’s persecution because of Jesus. It is inevitable. Jesus warns us about it. But He also does something else. He tells us the upside. The ungodly may hate us because they hate Him, but God will REWARD us. We will have NEVER ENDING benefits because of our choices. We will make God SMILE on us.

Summary

Following what God says is a CHOICE. It is the RIGHT choice, but it comes with consequences. No matter WHAT the consequences are, the choice is WORTH IT. Joseph got rewarded for his choice. We will be rewarded as well. It may not happen while we’re here in these earthly bodies. But it WILL happen. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). When times are troubled, we can hold to that hope as we continue to choose to follow Jesus – no matter the personal cost.