Biblical lessons

Potiphar’s Trust: Proof that Letting Go is Possible

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment
An open hand symbolizing trust and release, paired with the words “Learn from Potiphar,” reflecting the lesson of letting go and trusting God.

Have you ever considered looking to Potiphar as an example of how you should walk as a Christian?

Neither had I—until recently.

I’ve been reading The Master’s Indwelling, by Andrew Murray, and in one of the essays he pointed out something I’ve seen probably a hundred times, but never really SAW.

Genesis 39:1-6 NET
“Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. The LORD was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master. His master observed that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made everything he was doing successful. So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned. From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the LORD was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate.”

Potiphar saw the evidence of God’s hand on Joseph’s life, and as a result…

“Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned.”
“So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care”

AND

“he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate”

Even though I’ve been thinking about this for days, meditating on it, mulling it over, I’m still sitting here with my mind blown. Potiphar was a heathen. As far as we know, he knew nothing about Joseph’s God beyond the evidence of his own eyes.

But he had enough trust in Joseph and the God Joseph served that he literally trusted Joseph to take care of everything. As Joseph later explained to Potiphar’s wife, she was the only thing Joseph didn’t have access to and power over.

Take a minute to really think about this. I’m serious. I’m encouraging you right now to pause your reading and actually consider what we’re seeing here. This article will still be here when you get back.

[pause]

I’m honestly hoping you’re coming back to this with your own thoughts as I type mine.

This man was almost surely a heathen. He couldn’t have known anything about Joseph’s God. Who would have taught him? Yet he had enough faith in Joseph that he totally stopped worrying about what surely had to be significant wealth?

No wealthy man I know of has ever handed the entirety of his estate over to the care of someone else, to live the rest of his days not worrying about any of it.

I look at Potiphar and I think about how much worry Christians tend to live in. We know intellectually that God has promised to take care of us as long as we follow His lead, doing as He says, but how often do we instinctively try to take back control from the very God we claim to trust?

We’re not alone. Abram did the same thing; he and Sarai ran ahead of God and, by having Ishmael, made things a lot harder on themselves.

So we might be tempted to give ourselves an out. After all, if Abram/Abraham and so many other heroes of the Bible failed to truly trust God then surely God knows I’m just as weak as they were. Right?

But then I look at Potiphar and I have to answer, “Wrong.”

It’s been staring me in the face all this time and I’ve only just seen it. If Potiphar, who knew nothing of the God I serve, was able to fully put everything into Joseph’s hands, then I am capable of putting everything into the hands of the God I know and love. And leave it there!

And not worry about anything except what I want to eat for dinner.

Potiphar is proof.
It can be done.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Faith as Precious as Peter’s: Embracing Your Spiritual Value

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

Timing is so interesting.

I make the anointing oil we sell in the church coffee shop. I’ve been making it myself because every oil I considered carrying retailed for more than I felt comfortable charging. Also, as I researched, I found myself wondering how most of the oils were made. By that I mean, were they simply another commercial product? Were they even prayed over?

My conclusion was that the only way I would be satisfied was if I took on the project myself. Then I could control the blending, the decanting, and how each bottle would be handled through the whole process. Yes, obviously this includes a lot of prayer, and usually worship.

Recently, someone was looking at our oils and asked me who anointed them, was it the pastor or intercessors or… I took the question to mean, “Who prayed over them?” and I explained what I’ve just told you. She seemed…less than satisfied.

She didn’t know who I was, of course, but apparently someone with an unknown title was questionable. At least that’s what I got from her withdrawal, and her reaction made me sad.

The sadness wasn’t because she doubted me; that’s no big deal. I was disappointed because she apparently believed you have to be “somebody” to qualify to pray over oil that will be used for anointing. That sort of assumption is dangerous. Too often, we fail to understand who we are in Christ Jesus, and that failure can really hold us back.

Which brings me to why I say timing is interesting. Shortly after that brief encounter I read 2 Peter, and in chapter 1, verse 1, Peter addresses his readers as those who “have been granted a faith just as precious as ours.” He’s serious, and he’s right.

Peter walked with Jesus and was one of those closest to Him throughout His ministry. He has worked for decades to help the Church grow and mature; at this point he is in prison and God has already told him he will die soon. Yes, his faith is precious, but in what is apparently his last letter he particularly wants his readers to understand that their faith is every bit as precious as his.

So is the faith of all those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. You don’t have to be “somebody” for your faith to have value. It was the first batch of oil I made that was used to teach me this truth. I had taken it to someone whose faith I know to be great and asked her to pray over it. She agreed to pray but also assured me that I could pray over it myself, that I was every bit as prepared as she was for the task. Until that moment, it had never occurred to me that I was “qualified.”

You don’t have to be “somebody” for your faith to have value. You have value as a child of the Most High God and you are very much somebody in the ways that truly matter. So don’t limit yourself. Do you make your own anointing oil? Pray over it. Do you write worship music? Use it to worship, both alone and with others. Does Holy Spirit teach you as you read the Word? If what you learn excites you, it may excite your friends as well. Share it!

Your faith, dear Christian, is just as precious as that of the Apostle Peter. Never discount what God has done in you.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C