Dealing with Betrayal - the Story of Joseph (part 7); THE PRESENCE IN BETRAYAL

God’s presence is with you through every painful moment of betrayal.  I know it may not always seem like this is true – but it is always true.  It can be seen so clearly in the story of Joseph.  After Joseph was thrown into the pit and then sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery, the Bible says,

“The Lord was with Joseph [in slavery]!” (Genesis 39:2)

 And even when things got worse, the same principle remained true.  After Joseph is falsely accused and thrown into prison, the Bible says,

“But the Lord was with Joseph [in prison]!” (Genesis 39:21)

This principle is also true today for you and me.  During the time in our life when we were in the “pit” and the “prison,” my wife and I certainly found this to be true.  In fact, it was this truth that kept us going during some very difficult days (and nights).

During that time, my wife and I would make some coffee and sit out on the back deck at the end of every day and we would list the different ways we saw the presence of God in our lives and in the pain of our situation on that particular day.  We called the list, “The Fingerprints of God!”  Some items on the list were huge in scope while many of them were very small in comparison.  But each one of them was proof to us that “The Lord was with us” in the pit and in the prison.

We told some very close friends about this practice and they bought us a bag of coffee and gave us two specially made coffee cups to use in our nightly ritual.  The coffee cups had fingerprints all around them and the words, “The Fingerprints of God” printed on them.  To this day, every time I use one of those cups, I smile and thank God for our friends, and more than that, for His fingerprints.