“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” – Pr 3:5-6
A lesson most of us learn early on is that there are many circumstances we have to face that are beyond our control. Students get passed over for scholarships. Friends move away. Businesses downsize and employees lose their jobs. Health fails. We don’t get to choose these cards that life deals us, but we do get to choose how we play them. And we’ve all known people who’ve made the right choices, folks who’ve overcome tremendous adversity to make their lives count. Joseph, in the Old Testament, was such a man. A thoughtful examination of his life offers several helpful insights.
Because Joseph was his father’s favorite son, as a teen his jealous brothers conspired and sold him to slave merchants. Taken to Egypt, he became the property of Potiphar, a wealthy official in Pharaoh’s court. In Potiphar’s household Joseph received excellent efficiency ratings and was soon promoted to head slave in charge of everything. But then Mrs. Potiphar got eyes for Joseph and tried to seduce him. When he spurned her advances, she framed him - hell hath no furry like a woman scorned – and he was jailed for attempted rape. Again, however, he received superior performance reviews, and he was made assistant warden. After helping two members of Pharaoh’s staff who had fallen from favor, Joseph said to them, “If you ever get out of this dump, remember me.” One of these guys did get out, but he immediately forgot Joseph. Eventually, though, he remembered, and through a series of circumstances, including some dream interpreting, Joseph was promoted once again. This time he was made Egypt’s Prime Minister. It was in this role that Joseph saved his entire family and much of the world from starvation.
So how was Joseph able to achieve success in spite of all that happened to him? If we look carefully at his story, three things seem to stand out.
One, he was always faithful to fulfill his responsibilities. Joseph was the kind of guy employers love to have on the payroll, because they do an excellent job on their own assignments, then they go around looking for extra stuff to do. Joseph was dependable, reliable, and always gave 100%, no matter what. The old saying, when life deals you lemons, make lemonade? That was Joseph.
Second, he guarded his integrity. Mrs. Potiphar tries to seduce him, and he’s probably thinking, “Why not? I’m just a slave in a foreign country. I mean, I’ve lost my freedom; I might as well lose my morals too. Besides, after the raw deal I’ve gotten I deserve a little pleasure. And who’s going to know?” Can’t you just imagine Joseph thinking something like that? Sure, but he didn’t give in. He guarded his integrity.
And third, he trusted that God was in charge of his life. The Bible says when Joseph was 17, God showed him in a dream that one day he would be a great leader and everybody would bow down to him. So what do you do when circumstances dispute what God says? Joseph followed the advice of today’s proverbs: he trusted God. According to Gen 50, when all was said and done, Joseph told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (v:20). He didn’t know why that stuff was happening to him, but he knew who was in charge, and that made all the difference.
Bottom line, the secret of Joseph’s success was his character; he honored God in everything, even in the trivial, the mundane, the day-to-day stuff. The result? In spite of (and probably more accurately because of) terrible adversity, he made his life count. It can be the same for you and me.
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For information on how to begin a personal relationship with God, go to www.campuscrusadeforchrist.com. Click on “How can I know God personally?” Then, click on “How do I receive Christ?” Finally, click on “Knowing God Personally.”
Jim and his wife Ginner serve in Tulsa, OK with Executive Ministries.
