Serving Well and Finding Favor

So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.  Genesis 39:4

There are those times when we pick out a favorite among a group with no good reason to support the choice. Here in our verse for today, we see that Joseph found favor and served someone. Shouldn't that be the other way around? Do we not first earn the favor by working hard at the service? The preceding verses in this part of Joseph's story do not quite put it that way though. Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph. So how did Potiphar see so well in this case and so poorly in the later one? Whoops, bunny trail. That is a subject for another day. What we are talking about today is favor and service. Certainly good service should earn favor, but in Joseph's service the master of the house saw something more than just the work Joseph did. Potiphar saw success brought about by the hand of the Lord on Joseph. Now, young Joseph was not just sitting there like a big ol' lazy good luck charm, he had to do the work and no doubt did it well. However, Potiphar saw something more that comes from the Lord's favor resting on Joseph. And, in the sequence of the verses in this story, the Lord was with Joseph first and not after the Lord or Potiphar saw how well or hard or smart Joseph worked. 

The Lord is our enabler first in all our work, give the glory to Him! 

Bucky