So, what's the deal with Joseph?

Recently, a friend asked me why I admire the Bible personality of Joseph? You remember his story. He was the youngest of twelve boys. He was a dreamer. He was the favored son. One day, he showed up at his brothers' work place bragging that he would one day be their boss. They did not appreciate little brother's words and conspired to get rid of him.

Joseph was left to die, but was rescued by a nomadic group of people that sold him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph became a servant to Potiphar and became a leader among the palace servants. He was falsely accused of a crime and sent to jail. There, he rose to leadership among the prisoners. After some time, he was restored to his governmental duties only to rise to leadership and a place of high responsibility.

I like this guy! Everywhere he went, he rose to leadership. In every case, what seemed to be mistreatment by others turned out to benefit Joseph.

So, why do I admire this guy? His repeated rise to leadership? The fact that he was a dreamer? The reality that God seemed to repeatedly take something that was meant to be detrimental to Joseph and used it for good? Nope, not even close.

I admire Joseph, because at every station in life he was successful. He seemed to understand that nothing entered his life but those things that had first passed through God's sovereign hands. At every turn in life, he accepted his role, sought to obey God, and put his head down and worked. I like that about him!

There is no record of him whining about life's injustices or circumstances. They were all  opportunities. Joseph's most profound statement was "You planned evil against me; God planned it for good . . .  (Genesis 50:22).

I'm no Joseph. But I'm striving to emulate his attitude, his work ethic, and his optimism.

Read more about Joseph in Genesis 37-46.