City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Genesis 39:2 (NKJV)

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

Psalm 103:7 (NKJV)

Aisha’s Analysis

These verses give us glimpses into the secret of success in life and the ultimate bedrock of our security–God’s presence. 

The first example is the life of Joseph found in Genesis 37-50. It’s quite the tale. Joseph was his father’s favorite amongst the 12 brothers. What’s more, Joseph had a very grand dream–to be a ruler. 

In their jealousy, Joseph’s brothers attempted to kill him and ended up selling him into slavery. From there, Joseph went from one horrible situation to another that hardly looked anything like the powerful and prominent position he dreamed of. If anyone had an excuse to give up on his dream, it would have been Joseph. But why didn’t he? Genesis 39:2 reveals the answer: “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man” (NKJV). 

Although Joseph lived through adversity year after year, God was with him. This gave him the opportunity to learn God’s character and nature. In the process, God also refined Joseph’s character such that he could sustain such a high calling without faltering in his relationship with God. That’s how good God is. He won’t let us have something that would destroy us. He’ll prepare us for our assignment and use it to bless many. 

Joseph went on to fulfill his dream of rising to a role of prominence as second-in-command over all of Egypt, and he saved many, including his own family, from dying from famine. Years after Joseph had passed, the Egyptians forgot all about Joseph and enslaved the Hebrew people. Pharaoh treated them harshly and even instituted a death sentence over newborn male Hebrew children (Exodus 1). 

However, God made a way for Moses to not only be spared from death, but also to be adopted as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter. As a result Moses grew up in the lap of luxury as a prince of Egypt, but also aware of his Hebrew identity and relationship to his people. 

With God’s leadership and direction, Moses went on to free his people from slavery, leading them out of Egypt into the wilderness. During their time in the wilderness, the Hebrew people constantly complained and even grew homesick for Egypt and wanted to go back! 

Why was that? Didn’t they remember they were slaves in Egypt? In striking contrast, Moses, who grew up as a Prince of Egypt, never once said he wanted to go back. Why? How could it be that the people who experienced the very worst of Egypt wanted to go back while the one who actually experienced the best of Egypt didn’t struggle with that? 

Psalm 103:7 gives us a clue: God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel (NKJV). God revealed His character and nature to Moses. Once Moses tasted of God’s Presence, he was resolute in his decision to follow God–even through the wilderness. 

That’s the secret to security regardless of the situation–God’s Presence. Knowing Him gives us the fortitude to stick it out in whatever He’s calling us to go through in that moment, so that His purpose might be fulfilled. Being with God takes the sting out of soul-crushing situations. 

With God in our lives, we can rest assured of this promise:

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 

2nd Corinthians 4:7-10 (NIV)

Application

Think honestly about where you find security. Is it in your bank account, your job, your status, your relationships, or something else? Not that those are bad things, but they are not designed to sustain you on a spiritual level. Only God can do that.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that God has planted eternity in our hearts. That means that only Someone eternal can satisfy us on the heart level from which all of life springs forth. That Someone is none other than Jesus Christ, our Lord & Savior. 

Take a moment to express your trust and hope in Jesus. Sing your favorite worship song to commemorate the moment. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for satisfying me in the deepest sense. You satisfy my very soul. Thank You for remaining by my side in the middle of the storm. I trust You to see me through to the other side. In Jesus’ name, amen.