Faithful Where You’re Placed | Genesis 39:23

Devotional

“The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.”

My favorite story in the Bible, outside of the grand story of Jesus Christ, is the story of Joseph. Unfortunately, when I originally started reading the Bible, I would struggle to make it past Leviticus. I’m sure many can relate. This caused me to reread Genesis half a dozen times, giving me more time in Joseph’s story than a lot of others.

As I’ve grown, I’ve come to love other stories as well, from David to Esther and Isaiah to Paul. But Joseph still stands out in a crowd of many great stories and lessons.

There are so many parts of Joseph’s story that can be studied and applied in real world situations, but for this post I want to touch on Joseph’s time in prison.

Joseph was unjustly imprisoned due to false accusations from Potiphar’s wife. Many in this scenario would lose hope and come to terms with the fact that there’s not much you can do; Potiphar was captain of the guard and held an immense amount of influence at the time. Once Potiphar had you thrown into prison, there was little you could do to change your circumstances.

But Joseph was not like anyone else. He chose to remain faithful to the Lord and was put in charge of all the prisoners by the keeper of the prison. Who but God could make this happen?

It was said that whatever was done in the prison, Joseph was the one who did it. How incredible is that? A man imprisoned because of a false accusation continued to faithfully serve the Lord, even behind prison walls.

Joseph didn’t know how his story would end. He wasn’t managing the prison because he expected a promotion. He served faithfully because that was who he was before God.

The story goes on to tell of Joseph’s interpretation of dreams that ultimately resulted in his freedom and return to power, but that’s a story for another time. The lesson of today is that we should always remain faithful and disciplined, in spite of challenges we face.

Most of us will never face the circumstances Joseph endured, yet his example teaches us how to respond when life doesn’t go as planned.

Whether we’re exhausted after work, discouraged by slow progress, or facing challenges far beyond the gym, our calling remains the same. Like Joseph, we are called to be faithful where God has placed us. We may not control our circumstances, but we can control our obedience. And just as the Lord was with Joseph in prison, He is with us wherever He leads us.

Workout

Right from day one of this week, we’re cranking up the volume. For the Sunday circuit, we’re increasing from 4 rounds to 5 and increasing the reps of our exercises. This should be a very difficult workout.

Because of that, days two through four shift back toward strength work without additional conditioning circuits. In other words, we will only have one, exhausting conditioning day. Good luck and Stand Firm!

Day One (circuit):

5 rounds, if you track HR, aim for 160-180 bpm throughout the circuit

Warmup with light 500m row

• Rowing Machine: 500m

• KB Swings: 20 reps

• KB Goblet Squats: 15 reps

• Push-ups: 15 reps

• Pull-ups: 8 reps

Day Two (push):

1. Bench Press - 4x8

2. DB Shoulder Press - 3x10

3. Weighted Dips - 4x12

4. Overhead Tricep Ext. - 4x12

5. Ab Wheel - 4x12

Day Three (pull):

1. Seal or Chest-supported Row - 2x10, 2x8

2. Weighted Pull-up - 4x10

3. Wide-grip Pulldowns - 4x12

4. DB Curls - 4x12

Day Four (legs):

1. Barbell Squat - 5x5

2. Barbell RDL - 4x8

3. Nordic Curls - 4x8

4. Goblet Squat - 4x12

5. Weight Back Extension - 4x12