The LORD was with Joseph

The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. -Gen. 39:2

Over and over throughout Joseph's story, there is this refrain: "The LORD was with Joseph..." The first time the phrase appears, it is right after Joseph has been sold into slavery and ends up in Egypt with no hope of freedom or ever seeing his family again. Nevertheless, we are told that the LORD was with him.

The second time the phrase appears, it is because Potiphar can't help but notice the LORD is with Joseph and makes everything he does to prosper.

The third time the phrase appears, Jospeh has been thrown in jail... Potiphar's wife wanted Joseph to sleep with her, but he said he could not do such a thing against God. What?! God? What about Potiphar? Clearly, Joseph is acutely aware that God is with him. How could Joseph do something like that when God was with him?

The fourth time the phrase appears, the jailer has given Joseph some slack even though he's still in jail. He lets Joseph carry on with little to no oversight.

That's the last time the refrain appears in Joseph's story. Still, there are remnants of it a little later when Pharaoh calls Joseph up from the jail to interpret a dream. Pharaoh basically says, "Hey, Joseph, I've heard you're pretty good at interpreting dreams. I need you to interpret mine..." And, the first thing Joseph says to Pharaoh—THE DIVINE POTENTATE OF EGYPT!—is "Yeah, it's not me. God will interpret your dream for you." Incredible. Joseph is consumed with the sense that his God is with him.

No matter what happened, at every stage in Joseph's life, he was absolutely convinced of God's presence. God was with him. He knew it. The people around him knew it. It came out in his actions. It came out in his words. It came out in his thoughts, his perseverance, his explanations, his demeanor.

Do I have this same sense that God is with me?