Joseph the Super Hero of Character

June 23rd, 2022

For the past couple of months our youth have been looking at characters in the Old Testament that we view as larger than life. We have looked at these people that God equipped to do his work, and are taking a deep dive into how he also works in and through us. My faviorite person we have talked about is Joseph, and while he doesn’t have super strength like Samson his strongest attribute is his Character. Throughout all that Joseph does you can tell that he is a man of God who strives to live as he should. We see this really well in Genesis 39 when even as a prisioner he had favor placed on him, and he was trusted:

Genesis 39:19-23 " As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed."

When Joseph’s back was against the wall, and when he was sitting in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph chose to make the most of his life and be a man of character. All of us have bad days and some days we allow our desires, hurt feelings, and pride get in the way of working for God’s kingdom. Wherever Joseph was he lived out God to the world around him. Christian character is not just saying you will live for God, and put his desires first but to also put your faith in the forefront of everything that you do. God has you where you are for a reason, and for a purpose.
Joseph being enslaved, put in prison, and betrayed by his brothers led to the Hebrew people not starving during the famine, and because of hard days that he chose to live out God he was elevated to a point that he could make a difference. What you are going through right now could be meant to shape your attitude, and character. Later on in Genesis we see Joseph speaking to his brothers and telling them that while they might've started the stumbling block of things to happen to him to get him where he was, that it was God's doing:

Genesis 45:8 "So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt."

Being a person of character doesn’t just happen, it is developed from years of reliance in Christ, and years of putting others before you. We have to realize that when God puts us somewhere it is for a purpose and we are to live out Christ with purpose while we fill the spot God has perscribed to us. Not only was Joseph equipped to decipher dreams, he was seasoned to stand firm as a man of character and integrity.