When Life Feels Unfair: Joseph in Prison

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Carpooling with Jesus. Maybe you're headed to practice. Maybe you're sitting around the table with your family, or maybe getting ready for bed. I am so glad you're here. I'm Pastor Justin, and we are marching through stories that Jesus would have learned about when he was a kid. Have you ever done the right thing, but still gotten in trouble? Like, maybe you told the truth, but no one believed you. Or you tried to help, but things didn't go the way you planned. That's exactly what happened in Joseph's story today. Even though he did the right thing, something really unfair happened. Here is our verse, from Genesis chapter 39 verse 21. It says, the Lord was with him, he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. Wait, Joseph is in prison now? How did this happen? Yesterday, we learned that Joseph worked for a man named Potiphar, and that he made the right choices, even when it was really hard. And for that, he was trusted in Potiphar's house. But did you know what happened next? Potiphar's wife lied about Joseph. She told Potiphar that Joseph did something wrong, even though he didn't. And Potiphar believed her. Because of that lie, Joseph was thrown in prison. It wasn't fair at all. He had done the right thing. And now he was sitting in a dark, lonely prison cell. But here's the amazing part. God was still with him. Even in prison, Joseph kept trusting God, and just like before, God helped him. The prison guards saw that Joseph was different and they put him in charge of many things. This shows us something really important. Even when things go wrong, God never leaves us. We might not always understand why things happen, but we can always trust that God has a plan, even in the hardest times. If Jesus were sitting next to us right now, I think he'd say something like, I see you when life feels unfair. I know when you're hurting and when things don't make sense, but remember, I am always with you. This means even when we feel alone, even when we feel confused, we're not really alone, because Jesus is with us. Let me tell you a story about my friend, Dallas. Dallas was in gym class and the teacher told everyone to put the basketballs away. Dallas saw a ball rolling across the gym. So he picked it up and put it back where it belonged. But then, uh oh, the teacher thought Dallas was the one who left the ball out. Dallas tried to explain, but the teacher still made him sit out for the rest of the game. Dallas felt so frustrated. He had just been trying to help, but instead of getting mad, he decided to trust God and stay kind. Later that day, the teacher found out the truth from another student and went back to Dallas and apologized. Just like Joseph, Dallas had to go through something unfair, but in the end, he saw that God was still with him, and that's true for all of us. So, friends, remember, even when life feels unfair, God is still working in your story. He's always with you, even when things don't make sense. Never forget, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if there's some topics or stories that your kids would love to hear on the podcast, send us a message on Instagram. We would love to hear about it. Now here's a question to talk about as you go about your day. Have you ever felt like something unfair happened to you? How did you handle it? We'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.