Genesis 39:6-10 – So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

THEME OF THE DAY: WINNING OVER ALL TEMPTATIONS TO SIN. Supposedly she was a very attractive woman so this temptation wasn’t easy to endure. Yes, she may have been beautiful on the outside, but where it really counts, on the inside, she was ugly. Very ugly with a dark and distasteful character. Potiphar’s wife really put the pressure on Joseph to commit adultery. As we read this temptation, don’t thing this was a one-time thing. The scripture reads, “And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.” What a man of great resolve. And what a contrast with Samson who allowed a beautiful but wicked Delilah wear him down with a constant barrage of temptation to sin that led to his compromise and blown testimony for the Lord – “And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man” (Judges 16:16-17).

The difference between the two men, Joseph and Samson, are clear. One endured and personally prospered from temptation; the other fell and brought personal ruin from temptation. That is the difference in results. There was another difference and what serves us well as an example to follow in any and all temptations. Joseph said, “no” to Potiphar’s wife repeatedly. And don’t think this was easy. I mean he is a young man with passions. Not to mention the situation. He was alone with Potiphar’s wife. Who would know? Many people would have and do go into sin by thinking, “This is in private. No one will see me. No one will know.” Here is the lesson from Joseph. He knew there is no such thing as privacy in the human experience. He told her, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Joseph lived with the conscious awareness of the God who is and is everywhere. If we want to enjoy the Christian life, please the Lord, and conform more into His holy image, it will demand a “Joseph-like” approach toward temptation and sin; all temptation and sin. Do we know the first thing that escapes our thinking when the pleasures of sin are seeking our attention? The awareness of God. The awareness of the God whose eyes are always upon us. The minute we start playing with temptation, messing with sin, we lose awareness of God and when that happens, sin wins. Every time. Joseph lived in the awareness of his God’s presence.

There is another lesson from Joseph. The second reason why he successfully defeated temptation in the heat of the battle was because he cultivated a godly life BEFORE temptation. And that is a big factor for us too. If we are not daily seeking to know the Lord, drawing near to Him to be nourished and armed by His Spirit through prayer and the Word, when temptation comes, we will give in. We simply will not be battle ready and the foes of the flesh, world, and devil are too strong to overcome without proper spiritual preparation.

Joseph is a wonderful example of winning the battle against temptation. He did so by being aware of his God’s presence and that as a result of cultivating a life of walking in the presence of his God.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to realize Your always present with me and allow that to strengthen my resolve against sin.”

QUOTE: “Remember who is always with us and sin will become more and more hated.”