Joseph

One

Change is scary

It can be very scary to go through difficulties, trials, sickness, and suffering. If might even be harder to live in times of great uncertainty. The bottom line is, it’s tough to go through really hard things. This is when we are tempted to panic and say, “Wait, this is not what I planned.” 

When life becomes hard. What do you do?

Two

Joseph from the Old Testament

As we are traveling through the Old Testament, remember that God called Abraham, and then Abraham had Jacob. But then Jacob had twelve sons by four different women. Not a good idea. Even though Joseph was the tenth son, he was the firstborn son of Rachel, Jacob’s true love and Jacob’s favorite. Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph ignited a deep envy in his brothers, an envy that grew unchecked until it drove the ten to plot his death. 

Joseph was kidnapped by his brothers and sold as a slave in Egypt. Then falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison. I bet that wasn’t his plan for his life. But we are told: And there in jail he stayed. But God was with Joseph. (Genesis 39: 21) Through these trials, Joseph grew in his trust in God. He became a better person through it. 

Then Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker were tossed in prison with him. The cupbearer and the baker both had dreams which Joseph interpreted. He said the cupbearer will be released, and the baker, well, he will lose his head. To the cupbearer, Joseph says, “Remember me when all is well with you.” However, two more years pass, and the cupbearer has forgotten Joseph. Now it’s been more than thirteen years since he was sold into slavery. 

Then Pharaoh has a dream: seven fat and seven skinny cows. Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams correctly, and Pharaoh releases him from prison and elevates him to second in command in Egypt, the superpower of the world. Once the seven years of plenty come to an end, famine strikes the whole Middle East, and thanks to Joseph, Egypt has food to spare. Then Joseph’s brothers come from Israel to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph. Though they do not recognize him, Joseph recognizes the brothers who did him evil. He reveals himself to them, and they fear Joseph will take revenge. But Joseph answered them, “It was not you who sent me here, but God…You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” 

Joseph realized that God allowed all these hard things in his life to bring about a greater good: to make Joseph into a magnificent human being for all eternity, and to save both Egypt and Israel from starvation. 

Three

Don’t wait for life to get easier. It won’t.

Have there been times when you have been stressed and anxious because things are hard, and you can’t wait for them to get easier? And you say to yourself, “I just gotta get through this and then it will be easier…”

Most people think it’s going to get easier, that life will get easier. Don’t wait for things to get easier. It will never get easier. Instead, become someone who handles hard stuff better. 

That is the shift we all have to make in our thinking. If we wait until life gets easier, then we will wait forever. Because life doesn’t get easier. And we are tempted to say, “Oh, why is my life so hard? Why is life so easy for other people?” Then we are tempted to give up. 

Like Joseph, as soon as God sees you handle hard better, He will make it harder. Not because He is an evil genius who gets pleasure in watching others suffer. He is the perfect Father who knows what you need to grow and what you can handle. He is bound and determined to keep throwing at you everything that will make you amazing! Because you are His kid and He is preparing you for when you leave earth, so you can live in Heaven, so you can live at a supernatural level. 

That is what God did for Jospeh and that is what God will do for you.

Four

The next stage is not easier

At whatever age you are, we tend to think the next stage will get easier. But talk to anyone who is older, and they will tell you it doesn’t get easier; it gets harder. So become someone who handles hard better. Not someone who is waiting for life to get easier. 

If you have a meaningful pursuit in life, it will never be easy. Whether you are trying to win a championship, raise a family, succeed in a business, or endure a chronic illness patiently, and most of all if you are striving for holiness, success in all these goes to the people who handle hard better. People who wait around for easy, you’ll probably see them at the bus stop waiting for the easy bus to come around. But the easy bus never comes around. 

So don’t become afraid or anxious or discouraged if this moment of your life is hard. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. Life is supposed to be hard because hard is what brings growth. So, make yourself someone who handles hard better, and then whatever comes at you, you’re going to be great. 

Five

Rely on the Spirit

As a resolution, remember two things: First, like Joseph, God does not expect you to do this by your intelligence and will power alone. God did not abandon Joseph when his life got harder. There is a refrain from the story of Joseph in Genesis. Every time things got harder for Joseph, immediately we are told, “The Lord was with Joseph.” But you have something better. God was with Joseph, but the Holy Spirit is in you. And the Spirit of God dwelling in us will do everything. He will save you, inspire you, and carry you. Don’t try to hand hard by will-power, handle it by Spirit-power. 

Second, remember Romans 8:28, “We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him.” You are on the great adventure of life, where God, your Father, is determined to make something great of you, but it will take hard things. Trust him. And rely on the Spirit. With God as your Father, no matter what happens, you are safe. So, handle hard better!