“While he was in jail, the Lord was with Joseph and remained loyal to him.” – Genesis 39:20-21 (CEB)
Two words turn the whole scene: “But the Lord.” The line that opened Joseph’s time in Egypt returns inside the prison: the Lord was with Joseph. The pit did not change God’s presence. Prosperity didn’t earn it, and prison didn’t cost it. God was simply, stubbornly, with him.
“But the Lord” is one of the great hinges of scripture. Our circumstances say one thing, and then God says another. You may be in a season where everything around you argues that you are alone. Faith is learning to add those two words: but the Lord. But the Lord is with me. But the Lord has not let go. What sentence about your life needs “but the Lord” added to the end of it?
Loyal God, you stayed with Joseph in the prison as surely as in the house. Teach me to say “but the Lord” when the evidence says otherwise. Through Christ, Amen.