If you were making a list of reasons to believe God had abandoned you, Joseph could have filled a page.

His brothers sold him. He ended up in chains. He worked hard, stayed faithful, and got falsely accused of assault. Then he landed in an Egyptian prison with no trial, no timeline, and no hope of getting out.

If anyone had permission to think God wasn't paying attention, it was Joseph.



But here's what stopped me in my tracks when I read Genesis 39 again recently: God never left. Not when Joseph was thrown in the pit. Not when he was sold. Not when he was lied about. And not when the prison door slammed shut.

The Line That Changes Everything

Genesis 39:21 says something that shouldn't make sense given the circumstances: "But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison."

Read that again. Joseph was in prison, and God was with him. God showed him mercy. God gave him favor, not freedom, but favor. Not rescue, but relationship.

That one verse flips the whole script on what it means to be blessed.

I think most of us believe God is with us when things are going well. When the job works out. When the health improves. When the relationship gets restored. We measure God's presence by our circumstances.

But Joseph teaches us something different. You don't have to be winning for God to be with you.

Watching for God in the Small Stuff

Here's what I love about Joseph: he didn't just survive, he watched for God's goodness even in prison.

He noticed that the jailer trusted him. He saw that his work was being blessed. He recognized God's hand in the minor details of his day-to-day life. He didn't wait for the prison doors to open before he believed God was good. He saw God's goodness in the prison.

That's a skill most of us don't have.

We're waiting for the big miracle. The breakthrough moment. The turning point. And we miss the hundred small ways God is showing up in the middle of the mess.

Psalm 37:23 reminds us: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."

Not just the big moments. The steps. The daily details. The conversations. The small decisions. The little opportunities.

Joseph kept his eyes open. He didn't let bitterness blind him. He didn't let disappointment deafen him to God's voice. He stayed alert to the ways God was still moving, even when everything looked like failure.

The Trap of Fatalistic Thinking

I've spent 50+ years in ministry, and I've watched many good people fall into what I call the fatalistic trap. It's the mindset that says, Things just happen. God isn't that interested. He's too big to care about the details of my life.

It's subtle. It creeps in slowly. You don't wake up one day and decide God doesn't care. You just stop looking for Him. You stop expecting Him to show up in the ordinary moments.

You start thinking, Well, this is just how it is. I'm stuck. Nothing's going to change.

And when you think that way, you miss Him.

Joseph could have lived there. He had every reason to believe God had forgotten him. But he didn't. He kept believing. He kept honoring God. He kept watching for God's hand in his life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says it like this: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Notice the phrase: "In all thy ways." Not just the big ways. Not just the good days. All of them. The prison days. The unjust days. The confusing days.

Joseph acknowledged God in all his ways. And because he did, he saw God's goodness even in the dark.

How Do You Deal With What's Going On?

So let me ask you what I've been asking myself: How do you deal with what's happening in your life right now?

Do you complain, or do you watch for God's blessing?

Do you believe God is involved in the small things, or do you think He's too busy for that?

Do you trust that He's working even when you can't see it, or have you slipped into thinking things just happen?

I'm not saying we pretend everything is fine when it's not. Joseph didn't do that. He was in prison. That was real. The injustice was real. The pain was real.

But Joseph didn't let the pain write the whole story. He made room for God to be at work even in the worst chapter of his life.

And here's what I've learned after surviving Stage 4 cancer, COVID, and more heartbreak than I thought I could carry: God is always at work, even when we can't see the outcome yet.

You can trust Him in the waiting. You can believe He's good even when life isn't. You can watch for His presence in the prison just like Joseph did.

It's Time to Trust and Believe in God

I want you to know something today: God has not forgotten you.

You may feel like Joseph: sold out, falsely accused, stuck in a place you didn't choose. But God is with you. He's in the details. He's working in ways you can't see yet.

Your job isn't to figure it all out. Your job is to keep watching. Keep believing. Keep honoring Him, even when it doesn't make sense.

Because the story isn't over. God isn't done. And the same God who was with Joseph in prison is with you right now.

If you've been struggling to see God's goodness lately, I want to encourage you to read my article The Big Leap of Faith: Believing God Loves You Exactly As You Are. It's a reminder that God's love for you isn't based on your performance: it's based on His character. And that changes everything.

If this message encouraged you today, I'd love for you to visit waustingardner.com and explore more resources on living in God's grace. You can also listen to the Followed by Mercy podcast, where we talk about faith, resilience, and the goodness of God even in hard times.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if God is with me when everything is going wrong?

God's presence isn't measured by your circumstances. Joseph was in prison, yet Genesis 39:21 says the Lord was with him. Look for God's hand in the small things: favor, peace, strength to keep going. His presence is often most real in the darkest places.

What if I can't see any blessings in my situation right now?

Ask God to open your eyes. Sometimes bitterness, disappointment, or exhaustion clouds our vision. Joseph kept watching for God's goodness even in slavery and prison. Start by acknowledging that God is with you, even if you can't yet see the full picture.

Is it wrong to be honest about how hard things are?

Not at all. Joseph's story doesn't pretend the pain wasn't real. He was betrayed, falsely accused, and imprisoned. But he didn't let the pain define the whole story. You can be honest about your struggle and still trust that God is at work. Honesty and faith aren't opposites; they work together.