Attitude - Blessing or Curse?

In my last blog we looked at how Joseph responded to his temptation by saying no.  You would think that he would be blessed because his response wouldn’t you?  You would think that Potiphar’s wife would be impressed that he gave her an excellent reason as to why he could not sleep with her and that she would leave him alone but that is not how temptation works.


I remember a joke that an evangelist told one time when I was a child that gives a perfect example of how temptation works.  He said that his wife came home with a new dress.  She explained that she had tried it on and really liked it and was tempted to buy it.  He then asked her why she didn’t tell satan to get behind her and she said,  “I did, and he it told me, ‘It looks good from this back here too,’ so I bought it.”  Now that is temptation and  yielding to temptation.  I am sure we have all been there sometime in our lives.  It was no different for Joseph.


If you read Genesis 39:11-20 we read how Potiphar’s wife did not stop with Joseph telling her no.  One day he came into the house and grabbed his cloak and enticed him to sleep with her.  He did not reason with her this time but simply ran out of the house leaving his cloak behind.  She was so disgusted with the response that she accused him of trying to “make sport of her”.  She told Potiphar a lie when he arrived home and he was so angry that he had Joseph thrown in the king’s prison.


So many times we think that if we do everything right that God will bless us and then when it doesn’t appear that He is blessing us we begin to question Him and doubt that He ever will.  We doubt that our dreams were really from God and we find ourselves questioning our own actions.  This is how I would have felt if I would have been in Joseph’s shoes.  He had done everything right but he was falsely accused of doing what was wrong which would make anyone upset.  I would have pouted for days.  Joseph though was not like me and his reward can be found in Genesis 39:20b-21, “But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”  Even in prison Joseph honored God.  It goes on to say in verses 22-23, “So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.  The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”


Often I get so focused on the problem that I don’t allow God to work through me.  I dwell too much on the place that I am rather than the place that I am going.  Do you ever do that?  Do you ever feel that God has forgotten you?  Well, He hasn’t, in fact sometime I believe it is more that we have forgotten God or at least we have doubted Him.  Although He could do great things through us we choose to mope because we didn’t get our way and as a result, we miss a blessing.


I remember as a child being upset one day when we were on vacation.  I had been laughed at twice that day and I didn’t take it well.  In fact, I pouted the rest of the day.  I remember my dad telling me that I better straighten up or he would give me something to pout about.  I thought I had a good enough reason to pout be he didn’t think so.  I had to pretend to be in better sprits but I really wasn’t and my entire day was ruined.  I still remember that experience and look back on it in regret.  I even remember where we were, Salem, Massachusetts and the House of Seven Gables.  I could have laughed with those that laughed at me rather than being embarrassed about it.  It was my attitude that ruined the day and caused me to remember the horrible vacation day.  How many times do I do this against my heavenly  Father?  I pout, grumble, and/or complain rather than enjoying the blessings around me.  What about you?  Are you enjoying the blessing or are you pouting?


Joseph enjoyed blessings in his less than desirable situations because of His attitude..  He knew that God was in control and that His plan would someday be fulfilled.  Today as you go about your day, I hope you will look at your situation as the perfect plan that God has for you.  It goes back to trusting Him in ALL situations and knowing that He is in control.  As you seek Him and find Him may you have peace, contentment, and much joy,


Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila