Did Joseph ever aspire to rule over Egypt?
A pastor once asked me what my five-year plan was.
Then, I replied that I had learned (the hard way) not to make my own plans, but to remain open to the Holy Spirit’s leading. “In five years, I’ll be wherever God wants me to be.”
That was five years ago, when I was still in Japan.
At the time, I never imagined that I would be where I am today.
I’m no longer in full-time ministry.
I’ve returned from Japan and have settled in California.
And not only have I not finished seminary yet, I don’t know if I ever will, as I can’t afford the tuition right now.
Although I’m grateful for God’s provision, including a job that I love, I still find myself second-guessing everything I’ve ever done in my life.
Am I where I’m supposed to be? And should I have been more strategic in my career, or was I not proactive enough?
Was my posture of surrender to God just plain old passivity?
As I’ve wrestled with these thoughts over the past few months, I’ve sensed God repeatedly saying to me:
“Just follow Me.”
“Be faithful day to day.”
“Preserve your integrity.”
Then, I did a study on the life of Joseph in Genesis.
You know the story: a gifted but cocky kid boasts of his dreams to his brothers (Gen. 37:5), who get jealous and plot to kill him, throwing him into a pit (v. 24). His brother, Reuben, convinces the others to spare his life and instead sell him off into slavery (vv. 19-28). Joseph eventually ends up in Egypt, in service to a master named Potiphar (v. 36), and is falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar’s wife after he resists her advances (Gen. 39).
Consequently, Joseph is thrown into prison, and here’s the part that stood out to me:
“But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 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.”
(Gen. 39:20-23 NIV)
Even when Joseph was faced with injustice, locked away in a dungeon for a crime he didn’t commit, God was with him and gave him favor.
Did Joseph earn God’s favor? Did he work hard to become the one in charge of the prison? Or did he simply remain faithful, even in the midst of trials?
Later on, Joseph translates a dream for the Pharaoh, who not only releases Joseph from prison, but appoints him to be in charge over all of the land of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh himself (v. 40). This position of authority would later allow Joseph to save his people—including the families of the very brothers who had wanted to kill him decades earlier.
Joseph never had any ambition to rule over Egypt, nor did he work his way up the ladder to get to the top.
He didn’t plot and scheme his way into the royal palace with his eyes on the prize, either.
Yet, God made him the prime minister.
All Joseph could do up until that point was to stay faithful day to day, even in the darkest of dungeons, and guard his integrity.
This convicted me to stop worrying about the future—after all, Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34) and James 4:14 says “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”—and instead, to focus on day-to-day faithfulness.
1. Be aware of God’s presence at all times, even when you don’t see or feel it.
You might feel like you’re in a pit, betrayed by your own brothers, but God is with you.
You might feel like you’re in a dark, dank dungeon, unjustly accused of something you didn’t do, but God is with you.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
(Deut. 31:6 NIV)
2. Keep your integrity, even when (you think) no one is watching you.
“Joseph was well-built and handsome” (Gen. 39:6) and caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife, who repeatedly invited him to “come to bed with me” (vv. 7, 12). He could have given in to the temptation and gotten away with it—after all, there was no one around to witness it (v. 11), but Joseph refused, stating, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (v. 9).
Integrity means making every decision throughout the day in the presence of God.
When you’re tempted to sin, you might be able to escape human eyes, but not God’s. He sees right through our facades and knows what lurks in the depths of our hearts.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
(Psalm 139:23-24 NIV)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
3. Trust your days to God.
While Joseph was going through these intense trials, he had no idea that God was placing him in a position to save his people. “You intended to harm me,” Joseph famously said to the brothers who had betrayed him, “but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20 NIV).
You might not understand the circumstances you’re facing.
It may be dark time, filled with uncertainty.
But take heart: If you remain steadfast in your dedication to God, like Joseph, He will lead you through.
To humans belong the plans of the heart,
but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
(Proverbs 16:1-3 NIV)
and he will establish your plans.
