Shalom and welcome to our series on responding to adversity. Through the last few days, we have been learning and meditating about how Joseph in the Old Testament responded to adverse situations in his life. We looked at many ways of how Joseph responded and I pray that we are encouraged in our times of need and hardships to respond in similar ways. When you read the account of Joseph and from where we continue on, looking through the life of Joseph, we see that he was in prison for something he didn’t do, he was falsely accused and the chief jailer put him in charge of many things over there. As you keep reading, you will see that he was in prison for a certain divine appointment. As the story goes, two of Pharoah’s officials, his butler and the royal baker had offended Pharoah and thus was put into prison. They were placed in prison where Joseph was serving. We saw that Joseph accepted the responsibility and had the task of serving the prisoners in the prison. We know that this was just not accidental but it was an appointment by God. So, one thing that I’d like to focus on today is the way that Joseph responded at this time, in spite of his own difficulty and hardship, we see Joseph was sensitive to these two officials. He looks at these men and recognizes their hurt and distress and you read this in Genesis chapter 40, verse 7, ‘So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”’ We see Joseph approaching these two officials, seeing their distress and pain and being sensitive to that. Joseph didn’t allow his hurt to prevent him from caring about the needs of these officials. Joseph could have easily ignored it but he didn’t, he had the grace to set aside his pain and help others who were hurting. We find ourselves in times of disappointment and loss but we can be overcomers by refusing to become self-absorbed and refusing to be self-centered. Instead of wasting our energy in self-pity, we can invest in meeting the needs of others. So, being sensitive to the needs of others can keep us away from our own personal disappointment. As an application, we do see that there are different studies that show that doing good for others is good for our mental health. With the increase of sadness and depression and anxiety, the more that we help others, we find that it helps us instead. So, lets put more effort in looking into the needs of others even when we are struggling ourselves, looking into those who maybe less fortunate, going through difficult times, because in the same time, you and I will be raising our own spirits. Let’s pray together, Heavenly Father, give us the grace to reach out to this in need and affliction. Keep us away from being self-centered and self-focused but help us to love a step to show your love and care to those who may be going through similar or worse experiences than us. Give us your love and your peace as we minister to others, thank you for teaching is this, in Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

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