September 9

God Sent

"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God." Genesis 45:8

We all know the story of Joseph and how his brothers sold him into slavery because of their jealousy. Remember how Joseph always rose to the top in whatever circumstance he found himself in? Joseph went from the #1 favorite son to slave, but in Potiphar's house, he rose to the position of #1 servant. Potiphar "left in Joseph's care everything he had." [Genesis 39:6] When Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph and he was thrown into prison, he rose to #1 prisoner. "So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison and he was made responsible for all that was done there." [Genesis 39:22] Later he would rise to #1 ruler under the Pharaoh. How did Joseph do that? What caused him to always rise to the top every time he found himself at the bottom? The Bible says simply God "was with Joseph and he prospered." There are some fundamental lessons in the story of Joseph from which we can learn to rise to the top in any given situation. First, Joseph had confidence in God. He believed that wherever he was, God was with him and there was a purpose for all his experiences. Secondly, Joseph never allowed his experiences to make him bitter. He never wallowed in self-pity, even when sold into slavery by his own brothers. Surely self-pity would have been most people's reaction, especially when he landed in prison because he did the right thing and Potiphar's wife lied about it. But Joseph knew an important thing about bitterness; it gets you nowhere. It only eats away at you; bitterness chokes the life from you and keeps you from moving forward. Self-pity would never have gained him freedom from slavery or prison; only looking to God and seeking His direction would move him ahead. And ahead he did move, right up to the #1 position under Pharaoh. He knew who put him there and he knew why. God had allowed him to suffer that he might be raised to the position where he would save the very brothers who had betrayed him years before. Joseph not only accepted the direction of the Lord without murmuring, he allowed it to develop character in him. That is what God can do with each of us, if we will allow Him to direct our paths and accept each step without bitterness, but with anticipation for where our Father will take us!

Father, thank you for the lessons of Joseph. Help us to view our experiences without bitterness or self-pity that we might move forward in you. We do not know where you will lead us, but help us to remember that the end will be all that we had hoped for. Help us to trust you and remove all doubt and fear from our lives that we might develop the character of Joseph and be like you. Amen