Joseph; How To Lead Yourself Through Pain

The story of Joseph is found in Genesis 37 – 50. More chapters in Genesis are devoted to Joseph than any of the other patriarchs. The story of Joseph is one of personal leadership. He ended up leading and influencing the world leader at the time; the Pharaoh.

         The first domain of leadership is personal leadership. You must learn to lead yourself first before you attempt to lead others. God created you to lead. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world…” The story of Joseph teaches the importance of personal leadership that leads and influences others.

         As a boy, Joseph was favored by his father, Jacob. God gave Joseph visions of what was coming and the ability to understand his dreams. This did not go over very well with his older brothers. They threw Joseph in a pit, then plotted to kill him, then decided to sell him as a slave to an Ishmaelite caravan headed to Egypt. But the Bible says that “The LORD was with Joseph…” Genesis 39:2. It also says that the Lord blessed Joseph and all that he did so that he became a blessing to others around him. Joseph did not follow the pain of being betrayed, sold, and taken to a foreign country. He followed the Lord and the gifts that God had given him.

Joseph was a servant and was blessed with the gift of wisdom, of management, of making wise choices and following them. The man who bought Joseph in Egypt was an officer in Pharaoh’s army, Potiphar. He recognized Joseph’s gifts and before long put his whole house under Joseph’s management. The hand of the Lord was upon Joseph.

Potiphar’s wife also noticed Joseph but in the wrong way. She made several passes at Joseph, but Joseph refused her advances. Here is a picture of strong personal leadership. Joseph said that he could not go in to Potiphar’s wife because God was with him and he would never do such a thing in God’s sight. He would not betray his master Potiphar, nor his Master, God. He had been betrayed, but refused to follow betrayal. Joseph had strong personal leadership traits because he followed and believed God’s word.

Next thing Joseph knew he had been falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and ended up in prison. He refused to stop following the Lord and the giftedness God gave him. Before long, he was managing the prison, because God was with him and he knew it. Everyone around Joseph benefited from his giftedness, and yet he was overlooked and forgotten by one he had helped. Two years later he found himself standing before the Pharaoh who was being plagued by strange dreams.

The scene in Genesis 41:14 – 16 is classic. The Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it. Joseph answered Pharaoh, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’ ” Here is one of the secrets to Joseph’s personal leadership; he gave the glory to God, not himself. He saw himself as a servant of God and his gift as a stewardship from God to serve God with, for God’s glory. AMEN. He did not call attention to himself. He did not need to. His confidence was in the Lord and he knew whose gift it was that he was in possession of; it was God’s gift.

The story goes on to describe how Joseph ends up managing all of Egypt during seven years of abundant harvest followed by seven years of devastating famine. He led himself through abundance when he was at home with his father, and he led himself through many years of famine in the pit and the prison. He qualified himself through the pain of rejection, betrayal, false accusations, and being overlooked by staying focused on God, who was with him and who he followed, and by keeping and staying true to his personal identity, God’s servant. This is what personal leadership is made of.

The Lord is also with you and has gifted you with gifts to serve him and others. Staying focused on following the Lord through pain is the key to being healed of the pain. Operating under God’s control and in his gifts puts pain in the rearview mirror. Others will be blessed by God as you lead by following him.

Today, memorize and chew on Psalm 119:125, “I am your servant; give me understanding that I may know your testimonies.”