Day Three: The Resilience of Joseph

By Danny Saavedra

“I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”—Mark 11:15–17 (NIV)

Today, I want to bring to your attention a young man who set an amazing example for us, a young man who demonstrated a resilience that was nothing short of supernatural. That man was Joseph. 

In the passage above, we see the “after the fact” moment where his resilience and faithfulness led him. Here, Joseph assures his brothers it wasn’t them who sent him to Egypt—it was God! 

Do you think Joseph always feels this way? I don’t. I’m sure there were moments at Potiphar’s house, after having been accused of sexual assault and wrongfully imprisoned, where he thought: What am I doing here? Why is this happening to me? This isn’t where I thought I’d end up! 

Like David, who throughout the Psalms expressed raw, painful emotions and life struggles, Joseph must have experienced a rollercoaster of emotional turmoil during those 17 years. There were likely moments where he felt like giving up or giving in. And yet, regardless of his emotions, he continued living faithfully. 

Why? Because even though Joseph may not have always seen the big picture of what God was doing and why God had allowed everything that happened to him until his brothers showed up in Egypt, it didn’t impact how he lived because he trusted in God, he rested in God’s promises and surrendered himself to the will and purposes of God. This should serve as an example to us. We won’t always know what God is doing and how He’s working, but we don’t have to in order to trust Him and live faithfully. 

We can remember all He’s done in the past—how He’s never forsaken us and has always been faithful. This allows us to have confident hope about today and tomorrow. Joseph remembered the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have the Bible and we’re surrounded by what the author of Hebrews calls “a great cloud of witnesses”—the testimonies of believers throughout history and around us right now—which allows us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV). We can trust it’s God who has brought us to where we are for His good purposes because “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV). And this confident hope in and this intimate knowledge of God’s faithfulness and promises, of His sovereignty, wisdom, and love that nothing in this world can separate us from (Romans 8:38–39) enables us to have the same supernatural resilience that Joseph had to endure all those hard years.

You see, in the end, the resilience of Joseph was not about him. He had no power in and of himself to endure, no will or fortitude or ability to muster the strength to persevere. Joseph’s strength and our strength come solely and fully from God. Paul makes this clear in Romans 8:28–39, which we already covered, and in Philippians 4:11–13 (NIV), where he says, “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” 

The word strength (ischyō) means to face the “necessary resistance that brings what the Lord defines as success.” It’s a term that refers to the Lord empowering us with the necessary to endure and achieve what He gives us faith for. So, in every way, faith and strength go hand-in-hand as the Lord provides faith and strength through His Spirit. 

So, the key to both faith and strength depends on us casting aside the prideful notion of self-sufficiency. This means understanding our weakness—our sinful nature and our inability to truly achieve anything on our own (Matthew 19:26)—and embracing a reliance powered solely by God’s grace through Christ. When we come to this place, we find this inexplicable and indescribable strength of the Lord, a strength that is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Thus, humility is the secret to resilience. 

You want to be strong and resilient? Walk in humble surrender before the Lord, relying on Him and His strength to provide all you need to accomplish what He has for you. Even if we don’t see the whole picture, even if we’re in the proverbial Potiphar’s house or prison, we can remember His faithfulness, press into His power, and watch as He provides all that you need, moving us ever closer each second “toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV). 

PAUSE: How can we exemplify the posture and heart of Joseph and Paul in our lives every day?

PRACTICE: Write down some key verses about the faithfulness and sovereignty of God and write out some of the key moments in your own walk where the Lord has supernaturally provided you the strength, perseverance, and resilience needed. Keep this note with you—whether in the notes app on your phone or on a paper you can fit in your wallet or bag.  

PRAY: Father, I thank You and praise You in Jesus’ name for Your grace, goodness, and perfect plans. I thank You for the power, peace, and perseverance you provide by Your Holy Spirit. I ask You today to continue to work out Your good purposes in my life even when I don’t understand them, and to daily mold me more and more into the image of Your Son. Amen.