Scripture
38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God? 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you. 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck.
Genesis 41:38-42
Observation
Joseph’s life is like a roller coaster ride. One minute he’s in Palestine and happy as the favorite of 12 sons to his father, then he’s a slave to some traders, then he’s one of the most powerful people in Egypt as he works in the home of potiphor. Soon again he is brought down low as he is falsely accused and thrown into prison. The ride then goes back up a steep hill as he becomes #2 in the whole land of Egypt. Talk about ups and downs, hills and valleys. Life wasn’t always fair to Joseph. It wasn’t always easy. But regardless of his circumstances, Joseph remains faithful to God and continually overcomes any hardship that comes his way.
What was Joseph’s secret to success? There are a lot of popular books today that deal with the topic of success, but Joseph’s secret wasn’t complicated by 21 laws of success. Joseph’s secret was quite simple: Genesis 39:2 says, “2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” Joseph had success simply because God was with him. God caused him to be successful and everything he did to succeed. Joseph simply walked with God and no matter the situation was faithful in doing whatever God wanted him to do.
Application
We have a lot to learn from Joseph. When things don’t go our way, we are easily tempted to resort to a bad attitude and to start pointing the blame on other people or on God. “It’s not fair!” “How come this guy gets that and I don’t?” and such thoughts start crossing our minds... none of which help the situations get any better. We begin to reason with God that we will be really good and try really hard when he hooks us up with a large ministry, enormous influence, and a large platform to prove ourselves. Joseph’s story teaches us that it’s not our ability that brings us success, but simply the Lords blessing. Our responsibility is to be obedient with whatever is in front of us. No matter if we’re in the presence of a king or in the depth of a pit, we are God’s chosen who have been put there for a reason. God will bless us when we live a life of obedience to Him.
Prayer
“Lord, I sometimes seek after the wrong things. I try to become successful on my own strength, thinking that my efforts will bring about recognition. In reality, you are the one who I should try to please and you are the the who brings success. I pray that I would be a faithful servant no matter how big or small my ministry platforms are. IJNA.”
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