We cannot talk about success without the example of Joseph in the Bible. Gen 39:2 "The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man and he was in the house of his Egyptian master." He was a slave, but yet in God's eyes, he was a success. Why?
God's view of success is faithfulness and trust. It isn't position or wealth. Joseph at the age of 17 was clearly shown a vision of success. He would be greater than his family and they would bow down to him. God is revealing His purpose to Joseph because he was about to go on a wild ride before that dream came true. You say, "well, good for Joseph that he has a specific purpose, but it doesn't apply to me." You are wrong. You do too!! We all have a wonderful purpose!! God didn't create you and said to Himself, "I wonder what this person should do?" God knew before He created you and me, he had a perfect plan in mind uniquely for each individual. I find that so amazing that He does. Sometimes in our younger days, we get a glimpse of our purpose like Joseph. We are extremely interested or drawn to something and wonder what it would be like to be doing that for our lives. It's a seed that is about to grow into a full-blown beautiful plan. Don't ignore it, hold on to it, pursue it when opportunity comes.
But what happens to Joseph was strange in the eyes of the world. In the world, if you want to be a lawyer, you go to law school. My daughter wants to be an airplane mechanic and she goes to the airplane mechanic school. This is not how God works. Joseph didn't go to business school or get training for being the second in command. He obeyed his dad and went to check on his brothers, then his brothers threw him in a pit out of jealousy and then sold him as a slave to Potiphar. I wander what Joseph was thinking? "God, how can this be part of your wonderful plan for me?" God was doing something in Joseph, He was training his character. God cares more about character than a lot of other things. His ultimate goal is that He wants us to be Christ-like in our character. One of my favorite Presidents Abraham Lincoln came from humble beginnings. His log cabin can still be visited in Kentucky. His story is a fascinating story. Much like Joseph, through his hardship and trials, he eventually possessed the godly character needed to be the president that he was when our nation was divided and going through civil war.
So what was Joseph's pattern of success? Why was he considered successful in God's eyes while he was a slave in Potiphar's house? Joseph went through some very terrible things, many seemed so irrelevant and menial, but he was faithful in all of those circumstances. Whatever God has given him to do, he did it with all of his heart trusting that God will use that. In order to become a manager of Potiphar's house, he would have needed to complete everything a slave should do. What did the slaves do those days? some nasty stuff that no one wanted to do. I want to imagine that Joseph not only did those chores, he did them with a great attitude. That's probably how he stood out amongst all the slaves. Potipher even recognized that the Lord is with Joseph and that his house was blessed for Joseph's sake.
Why did this verse bless me so? I was a federal auditor for 5 years and a very good one....and my bosses loved me and gave me promotion year after year. This is when God called me to give it up and homeschool my four kids. Then all I did was change diaper and clean up after them. Most days it felt like slave labor because slaves don't get paid. Those days I thought of Joseph a lot. After 20 years of homeschooling, I went out to join the workforce again and they started me at the bottom. I was working minimum wage jobs and making much less than 20 years ago. It was frustrating, I knew I am worth more than what they paid me. I was exhausted daily and felt taken advantage of. I thought of Joseph then. Like Joseph, I can be successful in God's eyes when I am just a slave.
When Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife and ended up in prison, it was like his life turn from bad to worse. Sometimes when we do the right things, we do not get rewarded right away. It seemed so unfair and wrong. I wonder what Joseph thought about this at that time. The Bible didn't record it but I knew that he just kept trusting God and kept being faithful in what God gives him to do at this time. He was a prisoner, so he busied himself helping to clean up the prison cells and encouraging the prisoners. Whatever God gave him to do, even nasty jobs in prison, Joseph did with excellence. I imagine that the prisoners were probably astonished at the sparkling clean toilets. People notice excellence. The guard certainly did. He was eventually put in charge of all the prisoners. Again, God considered him successful when he was in prison.
When the opportunity came and he interpreted two dreams, he might have thought "this is it, it's my ticket out of this stinky prison that I don't belong." Not so fast, the chief cupbearer forgot Joseph and two more years passed by. Two years in prison is a long time. I wonder what Joseph thought of God then? Did he complain to God how unfair life is? Did he long for a comfy bed and decent food? I want to think that Joseph just kept doing whatever he could do in prison to make it a better place. He was patient. He trusted that God would get him out of there when the time was right. While he waited, he just worked hard at doing whatever it was that God did put him in charge of. Everyone, pay attention!! This is Joseph's success pattern. He trusted God and strived for excellence in whatever God gave him to do, no matter how unrelated to his vision, unimportant and menial. You may not understand why God has given you the set of experiences you have had in your life. You may not see how they connect, much less where they are leading. You may not have any feeling at all that God has been guiding and preparing you all through your life for a special purpose. But He has been. When the timing is right, as we all see in Joseph, God decided that Joseph passed the training courses with flying colors, and overnight God exalted Joseph to second in command to Pharoah. He was a man perfectly positioned for God's chosen success plan.
The same is true for you! God has a plan for your success that He is in the process of unfolding. Don't lose heart! What you are doing right now may be unrelated to your purpose and vision for your life but keep trusting and keep being faithful in small things. Do whatever it is God gave you with excellence and a great attitude. The world is watching you and they will be able to see that God is with you and that He is blessing them through you. Before you know it, all the dots will connect, all the experiences in your life will make sense, and you will be living out that wonderful plan God has for you uniquely just like Joseph. You can count on it.
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