Keys to Resilience - a Journey With Josephနမူနာ

Hardships, pain, and challenges in this life are inevitable. How’s that for an intro?? But it’s true! We see it all around us; within the world (war, pandemics, disasters), in our state and country, within our families, and within our own hearts and lives. We also see it scattered over and over again throughout history, as the story of humanity too often tells the tale of pain and devastation.

The truth is, pain is part of being human. It’s part of the common ground that we all share. Therefore, what sets us apart from one another is not the presence of challenges within our lives, but how we respond to them. It is our response that determines not only the kind of life that we lead, but also in turn the kind of people we are, and are becoming.

This character quality of positively and productively overcoming and working through hardship is called resilience, and it’s something we can all grow in. Resilient people are able to better bounce back from life’s challenges, moving forward and adapting to all that life has for them: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Over the next seven devotionals, we are going to look at the life of Joseph in the Bible - specifically through the lens of resilience, picking up seven foundational keys along the way. As you’re reading the daily passages, and walking through his remarkable life, ask yourself these few strategic questions:

What do I learn about God through this story? What do I learn about Joseph? What do I learn about resilience? How can I apply this to my life?

Setting the Scene

We are going to be starting Joseph’s story in Genesis 37. Joseph was the favorite son (yep, he made it super known that he had a favorite son) of a man named Jacob (who is often referred to as Israel in these passages). Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and Sarah, two very important people in the early books of the Bible. When he was younger, Jacob worked for his uncle Laban. In fact, he worked for seven years in exchange for his daughter Rachel (whom he was in love with, and wanted to marry). However, when the time came for them to actually get married, things became a little weird and tricky and his uncle Laban tricked him into marrying his oldest daughter Leah instead (how’s that for sketchy family dynamics?). And so, to make a long (and really good!) story short, Jacob eventually married Rachel as well (after another seven years of work), and went on to love his son Joseph the best because (at this point in the story) he was the only son he had with Rachel. Jacob had twelve sons, but the other eleven were his and Leah’s.

To show his obvious favoritism, Jacob gave Joseph a special “ornate robe” (there’s a whole musical about it), which - on top of everything else - made his brothers hate him…and that is where we enter the story for this week. As you are reading today’s particular passage, ask yourself these questions:

What were the challenges in Joseph’s life? To what degree (if any) were they self-inflicted?

Similarly, what challenges are you facing in your life right now? It may help you to write them down, and reflect on them throughout these seven devotions.