Title: Secret of Joseph's Success
Contents
Joseph's Secret to Success
Genesis 39:1-6
Joseph was taken to Egypt. There was an Egyptian named Potiphar, who was a servant of Pharaoh. He was also the captain of the Royal Guard. Potiphar bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites who had brought him.(1) Because the LORD was with him, Joseph became successful. Joseph lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian. (2) Potiphar knew that the LORD was with him. Potiphar knew that Jehovah made Joseph successful in everything he did.(3)
So Potiphar was very fond of Joseph. Potiphar made Joseph a servant he could trust. He entrusted Joseph with household chores and all that he had.(4)
So Joseph took over the household chores and everything Potiphar had. Then the Lord blessed all the people in Potiphar's house because of Joseph. And the Lord blessed Potiphar with everything he had, both in the house and in the fields.(5) So Potiphar entrusted everything he had to Joseph. Potiphar did not meddle in Joseph's work except for the food he ate. Joseph was a nice and handsome man.(6)
ingress
At some point, you must have thought of getting out of your current situation and wishing that the jackpot would explode in your life once in a while. Among such people, there are those who dream of turning their lives around by winning the lottery. However, there are statistics on what happened to the people who won the lottery, and in short, the conclusion is that no one enjoyed stable happiness from winning to the last moment of death.
Genesis 39 shows how Joseph succeeds in turning his life around. In Genesis 37, as soon as a 17-year-old boy Joseph had a dream, his life began to suffer. Because of that dream, he is envy and hated by his brothers and is thrown into a pit. But Joseph is sold to the house of Potiphar, the captain of the Egyptian bodyguard, by Ishmaelite Midianite merchants through the mediation of Judah. He was thrown to the bottom and became a secretary in the family and later the prime minister of Egypt. The word “success” does not appear in the Korean Bible. Which word would be translated as success? It's the word 'problem'. The English word prosper. Because the LORD was with Joseph, he prospered and was in the house of his master, an Egyptian (39:2).
“Potiphar knew that Jehovah was with Joseph. Potiphar knew that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did” (3).
How did Joseph experience success in everything he did?
The first keyword of Joseph's secret to success is 'God was with us'.
If you read Genesis, this phrase pops up a lot: “The Lord was with Joseph” Rather than Joseph actively doing well, God was with him.
However, this does not mean that there is nothing to do on the human side. There are two major streams in theology. It is a Calvinist theology that emphasizes God's sovereignty and God's election, and an Arminian theology that emphasizes the role and responsibility of human beings without denying the role of God.
Here's an interesting story about it. Does God do everything? Do people have to work hard? Proponents of either Calvinism or Arminianism decided to split up on both sides. However, there were people who could not make a decision either here or there. Then people said, “Hey, what are you? Do you decide”? The man thought quietly and turned to Calvinism. It was going toward the sovereignty of God. Then the people on the Calvinist side asked, “Why did you come to us?” They replied, “It is because Calvinism was judged to be right.” So the Calvinists say, “He who comes of his own choosing is not worthy. God has to choose. So go.” So he had no choice but to go to Arminian. So this time the Arminians asked. “Why did you come?” He said, “I came here because the people over there didn’t accept me. We accept only those who choose to come by our own will.” This was what he said.
Joseph did that. Look at verse 3! “Potiphar knew that Jehovah made him successful in everything he did.”
In everything Joseph did, he said, “in everything he did.” You can see Joseph seeking to be with God “in all things”. So the people around Joseph could see that God was with him. His life was concretely showing that he was with God. So, to succeed, God must be with you. However, on our part, we need specific efforts and responsibilities in our lives to be together with God.
How long do you long to be with God? How hard are you? “Lord, God be with me in everything I do. All of this is meaningless unless the Lord is with you.”
The second keyword of Joseph's secret to success is grace.
See 39:4! “Joseph found favor with his master and served him, and he made him head of the household, and he put all that he had into his hands.”
This is called Joseph found favor in his eyes in English. The New Standard Version of the Bible is translated as “accepted”. “Joseph fell in the eyes of his master and came to serve him closely. Potiphar gave him the household chores and made him take care of everything he had.”
Grace here means being favored by a person. In other words, you have earned your trust. Was there really no effort on Joseph's side until Joseph was loved and trusted by his master? Without it, how would the master give Joseph the position of manager? The master said he had entrusted everything to Joseph.
I think Joseph must have been very conscientious about the task entrusted to him and did it well. I think it's very important that we earn trust in all areas of our lives, whether at work or at church. To earn trust, you need to have two things. Integrity and professionalism. It is good if the doctor is kind and sincere, but skill is important.
One time, I suffered so much from rhinitis. I went to the otolaryngologist in the apartment where I live. The doctor was so kind to talk to me, to tell me who I knew, and to be so kind. After seeing vomiting, I prescribed medicine and smoke came out, so I went and smoked and repeated it for several weeks. But the rhinitis did not get better. I went to a refreshing otolaryngology clinic near my company because I thought I couldn't do it. The doctor went there once, and all at once told me that my nostrils were too narrow and curved and I had to have my nose operated on. So I had surgery. The nose was blown cold.
Everyone! Have you had an experience where everything you go is good for you? Because of one Joseph, God blessed Potiphar's entire household. See verse 39, verse 5.
"So Joseph took charge of the household and all that Potiphar had. Then the LORD blessed all the people in Potiphar's house because of him. And the LORD gave all that Potiphar had, both in the house and in the fields. You have blessed me."
Do you believe that one job can be blessed because of one person who believes in Jesus? As long as you believe in Jesus, your in-laws are blessed because of your daughter-in-law. Because of one person who believes in Jesus, the burial is blessed and the office is changed. That is God's expectation for you. That is the vision of the kingdom of God that will be fulfilled through us. I hope that the domino phenomenon will occur in which the company will be blessed because of me, the family will be blessed because of me, and our town and society will be blessed because of me. In Genesis 12, God calls Abraham and says, “I bless you, you are blessed Be the source.” However, the word ‘source’ does not appear in the original text. It says, “You will be a blessing.” “I will bless you, but that blessing is not that you eat well and live well alone, but that you should be a blessing to others.” This is the blessing God gave to Abraham. What God expects of Ul, the spiritual descendant of Abraham, is that I should be a channel of blessing to others, to my community, and to this society. It is God's plan for us to share the blessings we have received with others.
We make ourselves happy by making others happy. When we make others happy, we are happy. If we take away other people's things just because we want to be happy and only selfishly satisfy ourselves, we will be unhappy and our neighbors will be unhappy. When you make others happy, that happiness comes back to you as a boomerang. It was a blessing to Joseph when he served his master well in Potiphar's house. He entered the household as a humble slave, and later became the house's secretary. became a manager. In spite of hardship, God was with him wherever he was, and Joseph did his best with sincerity and honesty before God. This was the secret that led Joseph to a successful life.