Joseph in Jail

 Genesis 39–40

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Our true story is found in a part of the Bible called Genesis. The word genesis means “the beginning.”

We are continuing with the young man, Joseph. Joseph was about to do something really hard! But Joseph trusted God’s plan.


Joseph ended up working at a BIG palace in Egypt for a man name Potiphar.


While Joseph worked at the palace, he tried to do a good job. If Potiphar told him to get food, Joseph got him food. 


If Potiphar said the floors needed sweeping, Joseph swept. Joseph did whatever Potiphar told him to do, and Joseph trusted God’s plan for him. 


But one day, somebody said Joseph did something very wrong! And Joseph didn’t do it! But Joseph was sent to jail anyway. Joseph didn’t do anything wrong, but he was put in jail! Now, at this point in the story, we might wonder if God really had a plan. Because this was SO hard for Joseph.


But Joseph knew God loved him. And Joseph knew God was always with him. So, even though things were hard and even though he was in jail, Joseph trusted God’s plan.


Do you want to know what Joseph did even though it was hard? While he was in jail, Joseph helped other people in there. The guards saw him doing such a good job that they even put him in charge.


Joseph trusted God’s plan. And God’s plan for Joseph isn’t done, yet! There is a lot more of Joseph’s story to tell. This story is great because it teaches us that we can trust God even when things are hard. Why? Because God loves us, God is with us, and God has a plan for us!



Bible Paraphrase: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. — Jeremiah 29:11, NLT

Text Truth: I can trust God’s plan, even when it’s hard.



Family Devotional

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 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. —Genesis 39:20-23

Things didn’t go so well for Joseph in our Bible story. He worked hard and did the right thing, but Potiphar still put him in jail. Did Joseph give up, or did he keep trusting that God had a plan for him? Yes! Joseph trusted that God had a plan for him, even when he was in jail.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. —Jeremiah 29:11, NLT

Sometimes things are just hard, right? Maybe you have to clean our room or learn something new. Maybe you get really sick or you don’t get to do something you want to do. With your family, make a list of hard things—things that make you sad or mad, or things that you don’t like to do but you have to do.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, thank God for each member of your family (say their names). Agree that God has a plan for each of you, because God loves you. Pray that you will always trust that God has a plan for you. Ask God that when hard things happen like (read through your family's list), that He will help you to wait on Him, do the right thing, and trust in His plan for you. Thank God for His love and acknowledge to God your love for Him.

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence. 
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