“And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out” (Genesis 39:10-12).
At times as we try to resolve conflicts, we may end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter how godly we are or how much faith we have, we may have to choose to flee a situation. Even when we do, it may not be enough. In Joseph’s case he was accused of something he didn’t do and had to spend some time in prison. Some may wonder why God would allow everything Joseph encountered. Yet we see throughout the life of Joseph, that God did not abandon him. As we desire to make peace instead of conflict, we must recall God stands ready for us to place our hand in His. He will either deliver us or walk right beside us through every battle. We just have to remember; if we find ourselves in a comprising situation, we have the choice to turn and run.
When we think of resolving conflicts, start with the small ones as our study writer suggests. It does take courage, but as we start with small conflicts, we will gain the confidence and strength we need for the bigger ones. Joseph is a great example of how best to handle conflicts. He could have been bitter and angry, but instead he had a caring attitude. Could we have felt the same way, given how much grief his brothers cause him?
We will take one last look at Joseph tomorrow. We may know how the story ends, but do we really understand why there had to be so much tension and conflict?
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for Texas Women Active for Christ meeting today and tomorrow, and for WNAC executive director Elizabeth Hodges who will be speaking to women there.
