Life Of IntegritySample

"Joseph's Diligence"

Have you ever complained about where you are in life? As a college student, I worked during the summer, setting up the student living areas with proper furniture arrangements. Summers in Southern California are hot! Some weeks would be above 110 degrees. Week after week, we dragged heavy furniture in and out of hundreds of dorm rooms. Performing hard labor in drenched clothes and cramped rooms was not the way I had imagined spending my summer. Many guys didn’t stick around long because they couldn’t handle the work. But, this season of struggle was necessary for me. God used this summer job to teach me many things, such as perseverance to get through school, hard work that landed me my job, obedience to God that took me to amazing places, and a deep relationship with God that gives me peace beyond understanding. God can use our sufferings to shape in us His character.

Joseph was seventeen when his brothers sold him into slavery. Potiphar, Joseph’s master, saw that Joseph was a hardworking and godly man, so he put him in charge of his house. Potiphar’s wife desired Joseph, but Joseph refused her repeatedly. So she falsely accused him of rape and Joseph was sent to prison. Joseph suffered for a long time, but through God’s will, he was brought in front of Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Pharaoh awarded Joseph with the second most powerful position behind the king. At age 30, God placed Joseph as Pharaoh’s right hand man.

Maybe your situation isn’t quite as serious as Joseph’s, but no matter how serious, God is using the precise events in your life to equip and prepare you for something great. So let’s be ready for what He might have for us to say or do.

Ask God what He has been preparing you for. Ask Him how he plans to use you today and this week, right where you are, whether in hardship or in joy.