Joseph: When Life’s a RollercoasterSample

Joseph and Promotion: How to Handle Influence and Make a Difference

You’ve heard the expression, "What a difference a day makes!" Joseph woke up one morning in prison. He went to bed that night as Prime Minister of Egypt. Rags to royalty! After years of living a nightmare, his teenage dreams were finally coming true. But the one thing more difficult than trusting God when things are tough is staying faithful when you’ve achieved success. We can learn from Joseph how to exercise power, manage wealth, and raise a family in a God-honouring way.

One definition of a hero is someone who does the right thing at the right time in the right way, and this is the kind of heroism Joseph displays as he follows up his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream with a plan to rescue Egypt from hardship. Pharaoh says of Joseph, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God?" (Genesis 41:38). Tough times have emptied Joseph of pride, and he’s full of the Holy Spirit. Now his confidence is in God, and he’s ready for promotion. Once he’d interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph didn’t put himself forward for promotion. He understood, as we must, that people are repelled by, not drawn to, self-promoters. Look for ways to champion others.

From Joseph’s life we’re also reminded that, while remaining faithful to God, we’re called to occupy positions of influence in society. It’s ok to hold sway in secular spaces and to have career aspirations. All of life should be lived to the Glory of God; the only thing that’s secular is sin. Just be sure to check the motives fuelling your ambitions. Then actively seek God’s blessing as you create culture, policies, value systems, or grocery shopping lists that flow downstream to the people within your sphere of influence.

Joseph had to learn how to handle wealth. What corrupts us is the feeling that we need expensive or impressive things to feel important. In prison, Joseph learned to be content with nothing but God’s Loving Presence. He was ready to handle great wealth because he didn’t need it. Joseph displays two features of a healthy approach to money: giving and saving. His selflessness, generosity, integrity, and wisdom would’ve been considered countercultural.

It’s also evident that Joseph’s family was of paramount importance to him. It’s easy to get caught up in work and ministry and to expend all our energy outside the home. Everyone else gets the best of us, but family gets the leftovers. Be honest about what vies for your attention and threatens to take precedence over God and your family. Genesis 41:56-57 tells us that, when the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the grain storehouses, using his influence to bless the known world of his day. God will use your influence too, to bless those near and dear, far and wide.

The humility and integrity Joseph displays in his soaring success are in some ways even more astounding than his stalwart faith to trust God when his dreams turned to nightmares. As we contemplate Joseph’s example, let’s recommit ourselves to living with integrity and humility in every area of our modest or considerable influence.