39: 5-6 - From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
39: 23 - The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
What is God saying? Why would God make such glaring similarities within two separate stories within the same chapter? I think what God is saying is if you treat your relationship with God consistently, then He will deal with you consistently as well; even in your valley. Remember, as consistent and great as these moves of God were in Joseph's life, this is still a 13-year wilderness. No matter how consistently God dealt with Joseph, he still was sold into slavery and betrayed and imprisoned in a dungeon for something he did not do. Yes he was promoted in Potiphar's house, but he was still a slave. Yes he was promoted by the Warden, but he was still in prison for something he did not do. I think the point of these noticeable similarities is that God wants us to realize that He is working in our valleys. He is working in our wilderness. Sometimes we spend so much time focusing on the bad things in our valleys that we fail to see the hand of God still working in our lives. Joseph could have been bitter about everything that had transpired. He could have harbored resentment in his heart but the scriptures do not indicate that he did. He was always able to see God moving in his life, even in the middle of this 13 year wilderness. Jesus was never at the back of Joseph's boat.
And that takes us back to the story of the storm. Notice where Jesus is in their boat? He is at the stern. The stern is the back of the boat. Where is Jesus in your boat? Is He in the back of your life beloved; or is He ever before you as David said?
David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. - Acts 2:25
David was not shaken by the storms of his life because God was always before him; at his right hand. God is saying that we need to foster an active relationship with Jesus. We need to have Him at the front of our lives. We need to foster this through reading His word daily. We need to foster this by regular prayer having a relationship with Jesus. I fear that many Christians obtain their salvation and from that moment they may never get closer to God. Jesus takes a seat in the back of their lives. Maybe on Sundays He can come to the forefront, but where is He at work? Where is He on Wednesdays? In these perilous end-times we cannot afford to have Jesus in the back of our boat anymore. Look at the response Jesus gave to the disciples after calming the wind:
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"- Mark 4:40
This is Jesus saying to them, "I am in your life (boat) do you still have no faith? Why are you so afraid of the things in your life that come against you when I am right here with you? We need Him at the front of our lives beloved. David referred to Him being ever before him, at his right hand. That is where Jesus needs to be in our lives so that when the storms of life come against us we do not need to look to the back of our lives and wonder if Jesus cares if we drown. How else can we see Him work in our storms?
