The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Joseph: School of Hard Knocks

One might consider Joseph a spoiled brat, favored by his father over ten older brothers. He got the fancy clothes and preferential treatment and apparently thought he deserved them. When he had a dream of his brothers bowing down to him, he had the gall to tell them all about it.

What could make such a boy grow up? In Joseph’s case, maturity came only through calamity. His resentful brothers threatened to kill him, then sold him to slave traders (see Ge 37:12-36). As a slave he resisted sexual temptation, and for his troubles was accused of rape and thrown into prison. Basically, the bottom fell out of Joseph’s life.

Yet the man emerged with a wholly different character from the boy. Summoned before Pharaoh on a whim, Joseph the prisoner behaved with confidence and tact. Pharaoh gave him a huge government program to administer, and he carried out his tasks with tremendous skill.

Most remarkably, Joseph resisted the chance to get even. When his brothers fell into his hands, he struggled to forgive them rather than paying them back for their actions. In a time of famine, he saved his brothers—and his entire extended family—by bringing them down to Egypt to live with him.

Joseph’s story shows how struggles and disappointments can turn out for good. They resulted in good for Joseph’s family, who were able to escape a terrible famine. And they resulted in good for Joseph, who gained a whole new perspective on life. Looking back, he could see God at work even in all the trials he had experienced.

LIFE QUESTIONS:

What struggles have you gone through?

Can you see some positive effects on your personality as a result of these struggles?

Taken from the NIV Starting Place Study Bible.