Leadership Lessons From The Life of Joseph – Part III: Joseph and Adversity

Posted: August 19th, 2009

In our final look at leadership lessons from Joseph (see part 1 and part 2) we take a look at how Joseph dealt with adversity in his life. Joseph clearly had his share of trying times, and through it all he focused on God, and trusted that God would take him through.  He stayed true to the path God had called for him, and in the end God rewarded him with a rapid rise to power.

Joseph’s life looks like an amazing roller coaster of ups and downs. It was certainly filled with adversity, the start of which was being sold into slavery by his brothers!  The slave traders bought Joseph to Egypt where he served Potiphar, the captain of the guard.  Here he quickly rose to be the leader of Potiphar’s household only to be framed by Potiphar’s wife and sent to prison.

It is here in prison that we start to clearly see how Joseph responds to adversity.  Imagine you are in a land far away from home, and have just been put in prison – framed for something you didn’t do.  How would you respond? Alright, maybe that is a little far of a stretch, but each day you face adversity in your business, people let you down, things don’t happen like they are supposed to, you don’t seem to be moving forward – only back.

The first key to dealing with such adversity is in your attitude. Joseph always maintained a positive attitude.  Charles Swindoll says that the greatest test of such troubled situations is the test of attitude.  Joseph passed with flying colors, and because of that he quickly rose in favor of the warden, and before long was in charge of all of those in prison!

The focus of Joseph’s attitude was on God.  Even in the struggles Joseph turned to God. Face it, Joseph didn’t belong in jail, he had been framed, and yet we never see him complain about his situation to God, he always continues faithfully trusting in God – and God rewards him.  Because of his focus on doing God’s will we are told that,

“the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden” (Genesis 39:21).

The second key is that Joseph focused on others. He was willing to help the cupbearer and baker when they were cast in to prison.  Even knowing how much trouble dreams had gotten him into in the past Joseph was willing to interpret their dreams.  In his book “Joseph”, Swindol ties this caring for others with the first key of attitude:

“That is what a positive attitude will do.  It gets you beyond common hurdles.  It will clear the deck.  It will free you from hang-ups.  It will show you an opportunity for ministry that you never would have touched with a ten-foot pole.”

Another reason why focusing on others is so important during times of adversity is simple psychology.  By focusing on others and how you can help them, your personal concerns become less and less important. You are looking for how YOU can contribute, not how OTHERS have caused problems for you.  You are focusing on the right thing – the thing that ultimately will pull you out of the troubles you are in.

This is what happened with Joseph.  The good deed he did in helping the cupbearer ended up leading him out of jail.  In reading Genesis 40, you’ll notice that Joseph didn’t see any personal benefit from helping the cupbearer for over two years!  Thankfully Joseph also followed a third key – he always trusted God’s timing.  In our business or ministry we need to always be reminded that results will come in God’s timing.  Speaking about this same story, John Maxwell says that

“Self promotion can never replace divine promotion”

If you are in a time when your business is going a little slow you may need to be patient.  As long as you are doing the work that God has called you to, you are in the perfect place.  God’s timing is never late.

Eventually the cupbearer remembered Joseph, and this lead to what seems like the most rapid rises to power ever.  One day Joseph is sitting in jail and the next he is prime minister of Egypt!  In reality 23 years had passed between Joseph being placed in the pit and sold to slave traders and his new position in the palace. If you are going through a time of patiently waiting, remember that God can cause your business to grow and your position to increase in a very rapid time.

Even while Joseph was waiting for his time in leadership he was always growing and developing. God was bringing Joseph through the challenges and trials that he needed in order to develop character and leadership ability.  When he was ready God brought him into the position of power.  The same may be the case in your life, you may be learning perseverance, patience and other leadership skills.  When you are ready, God will move you towards the leadership role he has in place for you.  Just continue to follow in His will, continue to pursue Him every day.

Joseph faced more than his share of adversity in his life and through it all he let the three key qualities show.  He always maintained a positive attitude by focusing on his relationship with God, he chose to focus on serving others, and he waited patiently on God’s timing.  In the end he became the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, a position that God had planned for him all along and a position that he had dreamed about over 23 years before.  You to will go through adversity, so apply these positions to your life, and in His timing, God will bring to the position He has had planned for you all along!

Written by:

Danny Gamache

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