BUT THE LORD WAS WITH HIM

"And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.  But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison."  (Gen 39:20-21)

The account of Joseph is a confirmation of Divine purpose in, and control over, the affairs of men. He governs the world with the interest of His people in mind. Joseph was seventeen when he was sold into slavery by his own brothers (Gen 37:2). Being faithful and industrious, he was immediately recognized by Potiphar the Egyptian as capable of running his house. You will remember Potiphar's wife lusted after Joseph. However, being unable to entice him to sin, she finally fabricated a lie, saying Joseph had tried to force her, but she cried out, causing him to run away and leave his garment with her. Hearing this, Potiphar's anger was aroused. That is the point where our text begins. He was placed with "the king's prisoners," where state offenders were being punished. There, "prisoners were bound." The Psalms say, "They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons" (Psa 105:18). Here, in this place of punishment, Joseph was unjustly punished. He was wrongfully hurt, and unfairly put into irons. Isolated from any helper, he was housed with forgotten men. But that is not the end of the matter. There, in that most unlikely place, with his feet hurt with shackles, and "his neck put in a collar of iron," NRSV "THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH!" In a Sovereign decree of goodness, the Lord showed mercy to Joseph by "granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden."NIV Not by chance, the warden noticed Joseph, and was impressed to bestow honor upon him. He turned all of the prisoners over the Joseph, "and he was made responsible for all that was done there"NIV (v22). The warden was so confident in Joseph that he "did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper"NASB (v 23).  So, with his feet in shackles, and a collar of iron around his neck, Joseph conducted and managed the affairs of the prisoners. God was with him! He was within prison walls, and was hurt by fetters of iron, but he was in the favor of God, and running the prison from the inside.
Perhaps you too are being hurt by some kind of fetters–some restriction or handicap that is painful. Maybe you are within some walls of restriction, and are not as free as you would like to be. God can still be with you, and give you favor in those circumstances. He can give you favor in the eyes of those about you, and cause you to manage things where you are.