Shattered But Not Stopped

Read

Genesis 39:2 “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”

Think

Some losses hit you hard. Others hit you so deeply, you are not even sure what is left. You do not just lose a relationship or a job or a dream. You lose the story you thought you were living. What comes next feels foggy. People say, “Move forward,” but you are still trying to figure out which way is forward. All you know is something broke.

That is the space Joseph stepped into after betrayal. The pit did not lead home. It led to Egypt. A land of foreign gods, strange language, and unfamiliar customs. Everything comfortable was gone. If anyone had reason to give up or grow bitter, it was Joseph. But then comes this surprising sentence in Genesis 39: “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered.”

It almost sounds wrong. How can you prosper as a slave? How can you thrive in a place you never chose?

This is one of the Bible’s paradoxes: you can be planted in the wrong soil and still bear fruit. Not because the environment is good, but because God is. Joseph did not flourish because he was comfortable. He flourished because the presence of God traveled with him.

In today’s terms, it would be like losing a scholarship, moving to a city you never planned to live in, and working a job that felt beneath your potential—only to realize that God was using that space to shape something in you that success never could. Joseph learned leadership in obscurity. He built trust when no one was watching. And little by little, the very house that once held him captive became the place where he found favor.

Prosperity in Scripture does not always mean money or status. Sometimes it means fruitfulness in the middle of frustration. Peace in the middle of pressure. Integrity in the middle of injustice. That is what Joseph carried. And it changed everything.

Joseph was a Hebrew living in an Egyptian world. He stood out. His faith, his ethics, his way of life—it was all different. Yet Potiphar noticed that something was on his life. He may not have fully understood it, but he knew Joseph’s work was marked by something beyond skill. And he entrusted everything to him.

That is what happens when someone stays faithful in a season they did not choose. Not flashy. Not famous. Just consistent. Just grounded. Not because they know where the story is going, but because they know the One who is writing it.

It is like a professional athlete in the offseason. There are no lights, no crowds, no highlights. Just repetition, drills, quiet consistency. The championships are won in those private moments that no one sees. Joseph lived in a long offseason. But he kept showing up. And God kept honoring it.

Did you notice that Joseph did not wait for his circumstances to change before he chose excellence? He did not say, “Once I am free, then I will give it my best.” He worked with integrity right where he was. That is not because he had perfect perspective. It is because he had a grounded identity. Even in Egypt, even in slavery, even without his family, he still knew who he was.

You may not be where you want to be. You may feel stuck in a role, a season, or a circumstance that looks nothing like what you prayed for. But do not overlook what God might be doing in it. The same God who was with Joseph in Potiphar’s house is with you in your in-between.

Your job title does not limit God. Your past does not cancel his plan. Even shattered dreams can lead to sacred spaces. Not in spite of the pain, but through it.

There is a form of art called mosaic—where broken glass or pottery is arranged to create something beautiful. The artist does not hide the cracks. They highlight them. Because the shape of the broken pieces becomes the shape of the design. Your life may feel fractured right now. But God is still the Artist. And nothing is wasted in his hands.

You may never go back to what you lost. But that does not mean your life will not move forward. Joseph did not get his robe back. But he gained something even greater. Purpose. Influence. A front-row seat to God’s providence.

So if you feel disoriented by where life has taken you, do not assume that you have been forgotten. Stay rooted. Stay faithful. What feels like a side story may actually be the setup for something you cannot yet imagine.

Apply

Stay faithful where you are, not just where you wish you were. Whether you are navigating a job you did not choose, recovering from relational pain, or stuck in a season that feels hidden, commit to doing today’s work with excellence. Look for one way to serve someone else this week—at work, at home, or in your community—even if your own situation still feels uncertain.

Pray

God, wherever I am today—whether I feel confident or uncertain, fulfilled or waiting—I want to be faithful. Remind me that your presence is not tied to my circumstances. Help me to honor you in the work in front of me, even when it feels unseen. Shape my character in the quiet places. Let your purpose grow in me, one step at a time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.