Lessons from Joseph: From the Pit to Palace

THURSDAY Morning Prayer Reflection 06/25/20

Lessons from Joseph: From the Pit to Palace

Today’s Psalm is 105. My attention went immediately to v. 17-22. It talks about the journey of Joseph which is found in Genesis 37. Joseph’s story is one of the most popular in the Bible. He was the favored son of His father, and he belonged to his father’s favorite wife Rachel. My favorite part of the story begins with Joseph receiving a beautiful colored coat which drew intense feelings of jealousy from his brothers. Family dysfunction? Check! If there were to be a headline for him, it would have been: “From Pit to Palace.” This was unexpected for me V.18: “…his neck they put in an iron collar.” A clear picture of slavery

His life was ordinary and unique like any of us. But there is so much to learn from this young man:

(1) From a very young age, Joseph loved God and his family, but he faced sibling’s rivalry.

(2) When things turned to the worse, He overcame the challenges one by one, when he shared his dream where he was ahead of his brothers, he was heavily criticized by everyone. He didn’t give up. God has a dream/ a purpose for each one of us. We should make “loving God” a life adventure, because God has a vision for us. Joseph continued to love God and his family despite adversities he encountered. He always did his best in his responsibilities.

(3) As a young man, when temptation was at the door, he prevailed. He kept at bay the advances of Potiphar’s wife, which resulted in false accusations and landed him in prison. This is a difficult one: leaning on God in our darkest hour. Joseph was innocent, but none believed him. I suppose deep down he never lost faith that God was not finished with him. Joseph’s story teaches me that God’s timing and plan are different from ours, but always the best. Joseph wanted to get out of prison. That was his plan. It probably consumed all his energy. When Pharaoh’s servants were sent to prison, they had strange dreams. So, since Joseph had a divine gift to interpret dreams, Joseph told them the meaning of their dreams. Because he was desperate to get out of prison, he asked one of Pharaoh’s servants to remember him when he returns back into Pharaoh’s service.

It happened as Joseph predicted but unfortunately, He forgot about Joseph (Gen 40: 1-23). This teaches us to have faith in God no matter what We shouldn’t seek relief/redemption outside God. It doesn’t work. Joseph tried and stayed a few more years in prison. Our plans are likely to fail but surely God’s plans for us never miss their deadline. I am where I am now because ultimately God willed it. Now I may have made some bad judgments and wrong turns, but from where one is, God is always willing to begin with us.

We need to constantly bring our plans and thoughts to God and ask for his will to be done. Involve God in your life, if suffering is part of that path, don’t be shocked, please know that God has not abandoned you. May be sometimes we need to hit rock bottom so we can get a different perspective facing up rather than looking horizontally with pride while standing. So, if you are standing, beware, because falling can happen unexpectedly.

(4) We need to grow in discernment and wisdom: Pharaoh did realize that in Joseph, there was a spirit of wisdom. After hearing him interpret his own dream, he recognized the activity of God’s wisdom in Joseph. When eventually Joseph got out of prison by God’s will and perfect timing, he was not bitter nor vengeful, especially when his brothers came from Israel to seek food for their starving families. He reconciled. His heart had mellowed over all those years. He had been in the Palace and was in high authority of the land. Joseph could have harmed his brothers in the same way they did, by selling him to slave traders. Deep down, Joseph finally realized the purpose behind his dream and all his sufferings and his rise to high state Egyptian power: It was to save that little family in Israel! And in the process, saving entire nations, including Egypt.

You are alive. Thank God! You are a special vessel for God to use. Joseph became a very important vessel God used. His journey was far from a pleasant one, but in the end, we saw God’s grace/ God’s purposes and God's love all over this story. 

Observe God in your own story. 

Be blessed today and forever!