Leadership: God’s Plan of Success for Executives عينة

So What’s the Secret?

In the last readings, we saw that both Joseph and Daniel started their “careers” as captives, but then – by the grace of God – they both ended up as second-in-command of mighty organizations. But why these two men, and not their brothers or friends?

As a kid, Joseph was already telling his brothers about his dreams of them bowing down to him (Genesis 37:5-9), irritating them even more than his status as the favored son (Genesis 37:3-4). Shouldn’t Joseph just have kept quiet? And why was Joseph so blessed instead of one of his brothers? 

And what about Daniel? The Bible says that God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning to Daniel and his three friends, and all four of them were found ten times better than their peers (Daniel 1:19-20). So why was Daniel given more success than the others? 

We may never know exactly why God chose to raise up Joseph and Daniel to such high positions, but the Bible does tell us that they served well, remaining true to their beliefs throughout their careers. In fact, the Bible does not record a single shortcoming for either of these men – it’s as if they were perfect! 

So what’s the lesson of Joseph and Daniel for you today? 

Although the Bible never says that Joseph and Daniel were blessed because of the way they fulfilled their executive management responsibilities, it does imply that their behaviors were pleasing to God. In New Testament terms, we might say that these two men exhibited the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23a), and more by:   

• Always doing their best, never complaining   
• Maintaining integrity in all circumstances   
• Glorifying God in their work, not themselves

So what does this mean about God giving you success in your senior executive role? Doesn’t the story of Joseph and Daniel have anything to say about that?

Apparently not.

The scriptures presenting the story of Joseph and Daniel to us today give great insight into how these two men remained in God’s favor, but it gives no promise or formula of gaining God-given success to you today. 

In fact, compare their career path to yours and you’ll likely see that God orchestrated a much wider variety of events in their lives than yours. You most likely didn’t start as a slave, didn’t do jail time, or even a night with the lions. 

So how did you come into the position you hold now? Was it God’s hand of blessing directing your path as He did for Joseph and Daniel, or was it more of you working hard on opportunities presented and maybe even pushing to “help” those opportunities appear?

Past promotions aside, what’s the plan now? How can you receive God’s blessing of success going forward?

The answer is in the Bible. 

But it lies beyond the stories of Joseph and Daniel. 

Find out who God chooses to bless and how that all works in this next set of readings: "Leadership: God’s Promises for Your Success  "

Reflection / Application

Did God really bring you to your current position, or did you push for it and He allowed it? Does it matter?

How does your execution of your work compare to the working style of Joseph and Daniel? Are there any areas that you need to follow their example more closely?

Can you see God’s plan for you in your current position? What is it and how well are you fulfilling it?