READ: GENESIS 39
From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. (V. 5)
Two days after arriving at our “Snowbird retreat” in Florida, I eagerly mounted the saddle of my trust Trek bicycle. It was time to get back in shape for the upcoming Spring riding season. Feeling good after two short 7-mile rides, I elected to put my cycling abilities to the test with a 16 miler. Halfway through the ride my knees began to ache; my neck became stiff; and my butt staged an active rebellion. Sore, stiff and numb were good descriptors of my condition and I realized I had a lot of work to do to get back in riding condition.
My bike experience caused me to reflect back to 1985, the year I was promoted to Police Sergeant. Keeping with departmental policy, I was assigned to supervise a Patrol Shift after spending 5 years in investigative position—AKA Inspector Clue so” to my colleagues. At that time, the department provided no formal supervisory training, and I was on my own as I climbed “Back in the Saddle” accepting the responsibility for the care and oversight of 20 officers. To be sure my supervisory ride was far from perfect, but I eventually learned the ropes of being a Shift Sergeant. However, in the process my ego took a beating; my stress levels at times went off the charts; and I would long for a return to the days I was responsible for just myself and not a group of police officers. Despite police work being my chosen field of endeavor and serving under some very capable Sergeants for 8 years as a Patrol Officer, the switch to a supervisory role was not as easy as I led myself to believe. Times and circumstances had changed and caught me off guard.
One of my favorite Biblical figures is Joseph. Think of how his world was transformed. The pride of his father one day and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers the next. Yet fully trusting God, he labored as a slave until finding favor by serving Potiphar loyally and being placed in charge of his household. His life began to move in a positive direction until he was blindsided by a false accusation of rape by his master’s wife. Once again, he was thrown out of the saddle of life. But rather than throwing in the towel, Jospeh trusted God and used his talents to improve the Chief Jailers life and found himself a fast-rising star in Pharoah’s court. Thanks to God, his circumstances radically changed, and he remained firmly in the saddle of his life. God used his ups and downs to set the stage for the founding of the nation of Israel.
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
How often have you been thrown from your saddle of life? How many times has God called you to remount? It’s inevitable you are going to fall, but when it happens you have Joseph for a model and Jesus for help.
Dear Jesus, be my ever-present strength and guide when you call me to get back into the saddle of my life and ride at your direction.