Part 1 – Flexibility Training – Reading
In this chapter of Genesis, we find how Joseph had matured. He had become a man of great faith and courage, working hard to honor his God. As a result, God blessed his work, and Potiphar promoted him to steward his entire household.
But while Potiphar was noticing the young man’s excellent work, Mrs. Potiphar was noticing his excellent body.
Read Genesis 39:
ESV – Genesis 39 – BibleHub
NLT – Genesis 39 – BibleHub
How did Joseph say no to the constant temptation that the wife of Potiphar constantly threw before him? Somewhere along the way, the teachings of his father, Jacob, became real to him. Perhaps he even thought of his sister Dinah. He knew that to have a sexual relationship with the wife of another man would be “a great wickedness and sin against God.” So when she grabbed him, he did what Paul advised Timothy – RUN! Run from lust and pursue righteousness.
Why do you think Potiphar didn’t have Joseph killed? He could have. He was certainly in a position to demand it. Why put him in prison, and then allow the prison guard to promote him to basically be the one in who ran the prison? Could he have believed Joseph was innocent and his wife a liar?
PART 2 – Strength Training – Memory & Thinking
At any age, Paul’s advice is good. Run from lust. Spend some time memorizing these words and let them come to you throughout the day. Use them to help you fight not only sexual lust, but also lust for food, lust for gossip, lust for power, lust for whatever it is that you think about more than God. (Keep reviewing the other verses!)
2 Timothy 2:22 (NASB) Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
James 2:8-9 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
Psalm 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Lust is such a prevalent problem for us. Our culture practically runs on lust. It fuels commercials and fills sitcoms. “Reality” TV is pretty much one big festival of lust. Fortunately, God knows our hearts and He has given us ways to fight lust.
Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” [NIV]
1 John 2:15-17 [NIV] Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Proverbs 6:24 [NLT] It [your parent’s instruction] will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman. Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you. For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
James 1:13-15 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Part 3 – Cardio Training – Prayer
With the aggressive nature of our current advertising culture using sex to sell everything, posting it everywhere from billboards, to radio commercials, to magazines at the checkout lines, we need to make a covenant with our eyes like Job did. We need God to guard our eyes and help us establish the discipline to be careful what we see, to be selective about what we dwell on in our minds, to be faithful in thought and deed to our husbands, wives, and to God.
Father, help me. It’s hard to move through the day without being assaulted by sexual images. Help me not be like Mrs. Potiphar, objectifying the people I see, making them into things to be used for my own gratification and lust. Forgive me for those times I have done just that. Help me desire You above all things, and when faced with temptation to lust, help me not dwell on it, but to turn that lust over to You. Then help me run like the wind, away from lust, and toward righteousness and peace.
Part 4 – Endurance Training
This is where endurance training really becomes key to not only surviving our culture, but to thriving in the power of the Holy Spirit. By training our minds to be disciplined not to dwell on the things of this world but to be focused on the things of God, we build the strength to say no to lust and sin and to say yes to righteousness and faithfulness to God.
An Extra Lap
Considering her brazen approach, this was likely not the first man Mrs. Potiphar had seduced. She saw him as he worked and, in her mind, made him into an object to be taken.
Who are the people in your life that constantly chip away at you, asking you to participate in things that you know would not please God? Joseph had already made up his mind about not crossing any lines that God had drawn. Find those lines that God has drawn and decide on what side you will stand. Then determine how you will respond when confronted by those temptations. Perhaps you can have a ready answer. Or perhaps you need to stay away from those who tempt you. Ask God to help you come up with a plan, and then to help you escape in those times of temptation.
Faith Gym 