I see the Lord and his mighty work taking place.
And his mighty work.
Taking place.
Today I was meditating, praying, and wandering through the life of Joseph. It was wonderful to sit with his story, thinking about his journey from being a boy to becoming second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. It was inspiring.
The most beautiful part, as I prayed and pondered on his life, was that I felt really connected to it. I was trying to understand what exactly is in the life of Joseph that I can learn, or that the Lord is trying to teach me, because this was the passage highlighted to me before I went on what became a long walk, probably an hour and a half. I was wandering and asking the Lord, “What do you want me to learn from this, and especially from the life of Joseph?”
Running from Temptation
Joseph started out as just a boy, sold by his own brothers to the Egyptians. After being sold into Egypt, he faced so many challenges. He reached a place where he was badly tempted. Potiphar’s wife kept inviting him, calling him to sleep with her. For a young man, that sounds tempting. It sounds almost glamorous, someone calling you to sleep with her.
But in the sight of the Lord, Joseph knew what God desired. He must have had an intimate relationship with God, though I don’t know the details of that journey or how he grew into that closeness with God. It’s profoundly inspiring, and I don’t fully know how to describe that kind of intimacy with God. He had faith, he had hope, he had strength, and he knew what God detests and what is sinful in His sight. He had known that since the beginning of his life, and even in that situation, he didn’t give in. He ran from it.
Similarly, in my own life, I have regrets. There are so many places where I tried to run from sin, tried to hide my face from temptation, tried to just get away from it as much as possible. But the realization I came to was this: lean on the Lord. He is the one who gives victory. Temptation is not bigger than the Lord Almighty. That’s what I really came to realize.
Waiting in Prison
After that, Joseph spent many years in prison. During all that time, he didn’t grumble, he didn’t complain. He was at peace in the waiting. His patience was amazing, not just for a few years. If you look at the later part of his life, his own brothers couldn’t recognize him. Imagine how many years had passed. All those years, he was at peace, waiting on the Lord. His faith was completely surrendered to Him.
And when he rose to power, it wasn’t by his own strength. It was the Lord who raised him up. He became one of the most powerful men in that context.
Forgiving His Brothers
Yet when he saw his brothers, the very ones who sold him and put him through that difficult journey, he didn’t try to punish them. He didn’t think about revenge. Even though he had all the power to destroy them right there, he still didn’t do it. He was filled with love and compassion. He could only see them with love. His heart was so soft, so far from that kind of sinful attitude.
There is no mention of Joseph being angry, furious, or thrilled with vengeance. When he saw his brothers, he simply went away and wept, secretly, without letting them notice. Do you see that? He wept in secret, so they wouldn’t see. That’s the kind of heart he had.
Later, when his father and his other brothers came to him, he couldn’t hold himself back from weeping. That was really amazing. His heart broke into tears instead of filling with anger. Instead of punishing them, he hugged them, invited them, feasted with them, supported them, and loved them. That’s what we can learn from the life of Joseph.
There’s more to come. I’m still going through the next and last part of his life. But this part alone has already impacted me deeply.
What I Want to Become
Honestly, I struggle so much with the temptation part. Joseph, without question, ran, even though running meant facing consequences for something he never even did. He chose what was right in the sight of the Lord, and that’s what I want to be. I’m trying.
And his heart was so compassionate, so loving. He didn’t keep count of what others had done against him. He didn’t dwell on any of it. That’s how I want to be. I’ve been praying, asking the Lord to create in me that kind of heart, that kind of attitude. I don’t fully know yet what needs to change in me, but the Lord knows. So I keep asking Him: create in me such a heart.
This next part isn’t from the life of Joseph directly, but it’s my own reflection: if we look at the life of Jesus, Joseph was just a man, but Jesus was fully God and fully human. Jesus is incomparable. My point isn’t to compare them. My point is simply this: when we look at the life of just a man, we find profoundly amazing things. So when we look at Jesus, we find something far greater still.
I just want to look at the life of Joseph and learn from it: his heart, his personality, his journey, and his closeness with God.
Thank you for reading. I really appreciate your time, and I hope this has stirred something in your heart. I would also encourage you to go and read the life of Joseph yourself. You’ll come to know it, and realize it, much more deeply.