It is not wise to try to negotiate with an offer of evil. It is wise to run from temptation. Without that integrity, we risk missing the destiny God has planned, prepared, and positioned us to walk in.

One of the most dramatic examples is the life of Joseph. He was sold as a slave to Potiphar, an Egyptian officer in charge of Pharaoh’s guard—similar to the head of a modern Secret Service tasked with protecting a nation’s leader. The Lord was with Joseph, so that he prospered and succeeded in everything he did. As a result, Potiphar made Joseph his personal attendant and put him in charge of his entire household and all that he owned (Genesis 39:2-6).

Potiphar’s wife took notice of Joseph and urged him to sleep with her. Joseph refused. He reminded her that Potiphar had entrusted him with great authority and had withheld nothing from him except her, because she was his wife. Then he added the decisive reason: “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (v. 9).

Day after day she continued her attempts. Joseph kept refusing and tried to stay away from her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties. With no other servants present, she caught hold of his cloak and demanded that he come to bed with her. Joseph left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

After that final refusal, she accused him of attempting to rape her. Potiphar was furious and threw Joseph into prison. Even there, the Lord was with him. The warden recognized the same favor Potiphar had seen and put Joseph in charge of the entire prison (vv. 11-12, 23).

False accusation and imprisonment came because Joseph chose to honor God. That same honor became the very path that eventually positioned him in the palace as Pharaoh’s second-in-command. Through Joseph, God delivered the known world from starvation—including Joseph’s own family and countrymen. The journey toward that greater purpose began the day Joseph ran from temptation.