This article about the Old Testament character, Joseph, is one of a series of articles built around the theme, “What would they say to us now?” From the perspective of eternity and a completed life, what would they say is really important to us today?
Have you ever found yourself in a predicament and wondered how you would get out of it? Have your ever felt that everything was against you and life wasn’t fair? Many of us have gone through those testing situations and we’ve asked why, and what would be the end result.
Many people find themselves in unfair circumstances. It’s not fair when a man spends seven years in prison for a crime he never committed. It isn’t fair when someone is killed by a drunk driver. It isn’t fair for a child to grow up in the home of an abusive parent, for a wife to be battered or a spouse to be deserted. It’s not fair when couples who want children can’t have them, but other women have multiple abortions. Each of us could tell of a time we felt as though life ripped us off.
Some of you know the rest of the story because you have come through your predicament. You can now claim victory because by God’s grace, life has turned around. But others are still in confusing, unfair circumstances and wonder what a day will bring.
Perhaps only Job went through more difficult circumstances than Joseph, the son of Jacob. But Joseph persevered through the hard times and came out on top. If Joseph were here, what would he say to us?
JOSEPH
Joseph had a difficult upbringing. Both his environment and heredity affected him. His mother died while he was small. He was the eleventh son of an aging, father, who was a swindler and cheat. Jacob was a passive, preoccupied dad, who was apparently too busy to deal with the wrongs in his sons’ lives.
When Joseph was five or six years old, his father, with his family and possessions, slipped away from his father-in-law Laban. Joseph witnessed the furious anger of Laban his grandfather when he caught up with Jacob. Joseph remembered the strained encounter between his father and his uncle Esau and the fear that filled the camp before the two brothers met. Joseph knew about his sister being sexually violated and was aware his brothers had committed murder. Joseph was brought up in an atmosphere of tense bickering. There were jealousies among his father’s four wives. Joseph’s childhood was anything but sheltered.
When Joseph was 17, his brothers were so jealous of him, they were prepared to kill him. Only the conscience of one brother prevented his death. He was then sold to a travelling caravan of traders, ended up in Egypt and lived as a slave among strange people. He was alone, needing to learn a new language and adopt a new culture.
Everything was against Joseph but Joseph overcame the adversity, becoming the personal confidant of the Pharaoh of Egypt, the Prime Minister of the most powerful country in the world. Then he saved the nation from famine through his wise planning.
When everything is against you, don’t give in to the temptation to take things into your own hands. That can be disastrous.
Joseph would say there are five qualities that can take you to the top.
1. COMMIT YOURSELF TO GOD’S VISION
Joseph was a dreamer. When his brothers saw him coming, they said, Here comes that dreamer. (Genesis 37:19). From his earliest days, Joseph saw what was ahead. He didn’t live just for the present; he lived for what was ahead. Joseph had a sense of mission, something to live for.
Joseph’s dreams weren’t natural dreams. He didn’t dream at night because he ate too much cheese before he went to bed. Nor were his dreams wishful thinking. His dreams were from God.
That’s the first step. Commit yourself to God’s vision. Know where God wants you to go. Have a purpose, but make sure it is God’s vision for your life. Get in step with God. God has a beautiful plan for your life and that plan is for your success.
Joseph was a dreamer who had a God-given vision of what he could become and that vision gave him something to live for. It gave him hope when his circumstances cried despair. The vision was a bright light shining at the end of the tunnel.
2. COMBAT TEMPTATION AND CONTROL YOUR PASSIONS
There are too many sad stories of people who gave in to temptation. As you read their stories, you see lives filled with remorse and shame. People pay the price for yielding to temptation. When life was unfair, Joseph was self-controlled. He had a virtue that controlled him. In fact, there’s no record of Joseph ever giving in to temptation.
Temptation wears many faces. There’s material temptation, the lust for things. There’s personal temptation, the lust for a name, authority, power or control. There’s sensual temptation, the lust for a person’s body that doesn’t belong to you.
We all face temptation. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Joseph didn’t give in. He resisted the persistent offers of Potiphar’s wife, a powerful, beautiful woman. On three occasions she propositioned him. There was nothing subtle about her advances. She came right out and said, Come to bed with me. (Genesis 39:7). But instead of inhaling her perfume and enjoying her warm embraces, Joseph ran from her. He had a value system that he would not violate; he wouldn’t compromise his convictions.
Joseph wouldn’t betray his master. He said, My master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. (Genesis 39:8). Joseph said, he’s trusted me and I cannot betray him by sleeping with his wife.
Joseph wouldn’t betray his God. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Joseph knew what was right and what was wrong. He knew adultery was sinful and would affect his relationship with God. So he said no. He didn’t hang around to play with temptation, he didn’t argue with the temptress and he didn’t flirt with her appeals. He ran.
That’s the way to handle temptation. Don’t put yourself in the place of temptation, don’t play with temptation and don’t lie to yourself, saying you can handle it. No one can stay in the place of temptation and not be influenced.
Joseph ran because he had a virtue that controlled him. He wouldn’t compromise his integrity.
3. CONSIDER THE BIG PICTURE
When life is difficult, we tend to forget the big picture. Joseph always kept things in perspective. He could have had a distorted view of life. If ever a man had reason to question God’s love, it was Joseph, but he had a perspective that stabilized him. When he was thrown into the pit, he didn’t look at the walls of the pit, he remembered his dreams. When he was sold as a slave, he didn’t look at his hardships, he remembered his God. When he was falsely accused, he took the long view, knowing there’d be another day. When he was forgotten in prison, he remembered the promises of God.
Joseph had a unique view of life. He didn’t see just the present; he saw the future. He didn’t see just today; he kept an eye on tomorrow. He didn’t see just the people around him; he put his faith in God.
This was shown when his father Jacob and all his brothers came to him in Egypt. At first, Joseph disguised himself but later revealed himself to them. When his brothers asked for forgiveness, he said, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 50:20).
What a perspective on life and what an approach to adversity! You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. All through his trials, Joseph knew God was going to bring good through his life.
He knew what Paul would later write, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28). Joseph knew that in the end, God would vindicate him. That perspective stabilized his faith in the midst of adversity.
4. COVET A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
When my children were small, at times they would lie awake crying in the dark. I would go into their room and they would be comforted by their dad’s voice. I’d say, “It’s OK, daddy’s here!” Knowing dad was near took away fear.
Repeatedly in Genesis 39, you read, The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered. (v. 2). But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. (v. 20). 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. (v 23).
God was with Joseph because they had a special relationship. Joseph was a man of faith. For Joseph, faith was more than something in his mind, it was a relationship of the heart. God was his friend who was with him wherever he went. Regardless of his circumstances, God was with him. God talked with him and he talked with God.
We don’t know where Joseph’s faith came from. Obviously, in some way it came from his father. Possibly, it came as a result of seeing a change in his father after he wrestled with God. He saw the transformation in his father when his name was changed from Jacob to Israel.
Joseph made the faith of his father his own faith. He made a choice to believe even though his brothers refused.
Joseph had a relationship with God that steadied him. When his brothers tossed him into the pit, God was with him. When he was sold as a slave, God was with him. When he was thrown in prison for staying pure, God was with him. When he was forgotten by his friends in prison, God was with him. When he reached the top and was tempted by power and wealth, God was still with him.
The presence of God was a steadying influence in his life. God’s presence cheered him when he was discouraged, lifted him up when he was down and held him steady when he felt like throwing in the towel. God’s presence was there when he was alone.
And God wants to be a steadying influence your life.
5. CONNECT TO THE SOURCE THAT WILL EMPOWER YOU
Joseph not only had the presence of God to steady him, he had an inner power that strengthened him. The Spirit of God rested on Joseph.
One night, Pharaoh had an unusual dream. He knew it had significance but he couldn’t understand it and none of his wise men could interpret it. Joseph was hauled out of the prison and brought to Pharaoh and he interpreted the dream.
Pharaoh asked, Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God? (Genesis 41:38). Pharaoh didn’t understand much about the Spirit of God, but he recognized a presence in Joseph that marked him as different. He realized it was God’s Spirit that made Joseph strong. He knew it was the Spirit of God that enabled him to interpret dreams and made Joseph wise.
The power in Joseph’s life came from the Holy Spirit.
In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit came on certain people at times for specific purposes. At that time, the Holy Spirit wasn’t available to everyone, but when God had a special job for someone to do, he gave the Spirit to that person, for that task.
The good news is the Holy Spirit has come in a new dimension. Since the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is available to everyone. The Spirit can be a constant presence in your life. There’s power for service, for witnessing, for living, for standing strong, for making good decisions and for facing temptation.
The Holy Spirit will empower you when you are going through difficult times.
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