A Prisoner of Hope!

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:20-23)

Few things in life are lonelier than prison. Incarceration is no picnic or walk in the park (and it's not supposed to be). Danger lurks behind every corner and hides within every shadow. Friends can be few. The daylight hours are long. The nights are filled with fear. The clanging sound of a gate or the closing of a prison door slams hard against even the most calloused soul. Separation. Confinement. Solitary. It’s hard time and few individuals leave prison without new scars and scrapes.

Over the years, I’ve visited a few prisons, including the famed Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in northeast Kansas. I’ve walked the walls of the Kansas State Penitentiary and witnessed the horrors of the hole. I've preached for convict chapels. I've shook their hands and saw their souls. The inside of a prison is a different world. And let me say you never wash the smell from your mind. You can’t erase the sounds or images either. Every con has an angle. Every sentence has an excuse. Every wall has a story.

Doing time takes its toll on a man--especially the truly innocent ones. Joseph certainly didn’t belong in prison. He clearly was framed, but fortunately refused to let others’ decisions (and judgments) destroy his purpose. Joseph was a natural leader and if he couldn’t head a household, he’d coordinate a cell block. Obviously he was pretty good at it, too. For eventually he was recognized and rewarded by an Egyptian warden—who made Joseph is right hand inmate. Joseph essentially ran the jail. Even the warden “paid no attention” when it was Joseph’s turn to take the helm.

I can imagine Joseph probably was puzzled by his predicament. Why prison? Why was he framed? What could he have done differently? Those questions rattle a mind and score a soul. He went from a son to a slave to a prisoner. If overseeing an Egyptian jail was God’s idea of a dream of destiny then God must have a wicked sense of humor.

Fortunately, God was “with” Joseph and showered him with “kindness” and “favor” whether Joseph felt the love or not. I mean, maybe we have Joseph pegged wrong. We have no idea how he handled his new prison digs. Maybe initially Joseph clung to life during this dark season of the soul. Maybe Joseph, at least early on, lashed out at God for this ironic twist of fate. If Joe were living in our day, he might have been prescribed Zoloft or spent time on the couch of the prison shrink. I wonder. We often give Joseph the benefit of the doubt. We see Joseph as somebody we aren’t, but I tend to think he's more like me that I care to admit. We don’t know how Joseph handled prison—at least initially. But we do know how God handled Joseph. No matter how Joseph behaved or reacted, God made it a favorable impression upon the warden (who obviously saw something in Joseph the other guards did not).

Now that's called “grace.” Unmerited favor. Unbelievable blessing. Unmatched kindness. It’s when God shows up and makes everything new. It's when God makes impressions that we simply cannot. It's when God just hangs with us, even if we don't want Him around. It's lighting our life with hope, even if all we see is darkness.

Get the picture yet?

Joseph was successful in prison because he did ultimately let God work. No matter how he might have handled his incarceration, eventually he quit kicking against the goads. He finally let go of his pride, once and for all. You see, Joseph was a son, a slave and an inmate all rolled into one. But he was also God’s kid. He was also the Almighty’s servant. He was also imprisoned by His Master’s Will.

Sometimes it takes a ball and chain to roll away the stones that keep God from using us completely. The bars that confine also can be the iron that sharpens. The years that steal can also be the time that heals. The warden’s work can also become the opportunity to prepare a man for tomorrow’s destiny.

Thankfully, there’s not a prison on this planet strong enough to incarcerate hope. It’s the key that sets captives free, including those of us still imprisoned by our own fears, pride and will.

And sometimes that's still me.


NOTABLE QUOTABLES ON PRISON:

“In prison, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all.” (Eldridge Cleaver)

“One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.” (Oscar Wilde)

“Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.” (Frederick Langbridge)

“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes - and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Father, no one seeks a prison cell. Nobody argues for incarceration. But, Father, occasionally we find ourselves locked away in life. The walls close in. The doors swing shut. The days are long and the nights are lonely. If we are here because of our own choice and consequence, then forgive us, Father. Nevertheless, we count this as an opportunity for You to work within us. Use this time to heal our hearts. Use these walls to write Your story. Use these bars as promises to build hope. I ask only for strength and peace. Amen.