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Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.” (Genesis 41:38-39)

It’s been said that the successful executive is the one who can delegate all the responsibility, shift all the blame, and take all the credit. Hoping to find success, that’s the plan many people follow. But that strategy is like a house of cards. Joseph’s example shows us God’s way to achieve and handle success.

Note that timing is important to the success that God gives. Here, in Genesis 41, Joseph had just arrived at the pinnacle of his success; but it took him a long time to get there. It may have felt that Joseph had been “wasting” his time in prison the previous few years, but it wasn’t a waste at all. It all had a place in God’s timing for Joseph’s success. From his youth, Joseph had the idea God had destined him for great things. But Joseph didn’t know the fulfillment would take so long.

Psalm 31:14-15 says, But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand. Can you say this also? We might feel as though we are all ready for what we know God will do through us, yet we must rest in the LORD, and say to Him “my times are in Your hand.”

Pharaoh finally promoted Joseph. He rose from the pit all the way to the pinnacle. But Pharaoh wasn’t the one responsible for Joseph’s promotion – God was. Joseph wasn’t waiting on Pharaoh to get out of jail; he was waiting on God. The psalmist reminds us: For exaltation comes neither from the east, nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one and exalts another (Psalm 75:6-7). The credit for Joseph’s amazing rise to power did not belong to Pharaoh, or to Joseph, and especially not to blind fate or circumstance. Joseph’s rise was the fulfillment of God’s divine plan.

Genesis 41:50-52 tells us Joseph had two sons, naming them Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph lived in Egypt, married an Egyptian woman, and worked for the Egyptian Pharaoh – but he gave his two sons Hebrew names. This shows us that Joseph did not forget about God, even in his success. Many people, when they have been promoted the way Joseph was, feel they no longer need God. They think that God is only good for the prison, not for the palace. We should be like Joseph, who was devoted to God no matter what – good times or bad.

Here’s a good prayer for today: “God, give me a heart that will wait on You and serve You faithfully even when I am successful in the eyes of the world.”

The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. (Genesis 39:2-3)

When you think of all that Joseph endured before he was 25 years old, it was more than enough to last a lifetime. Rejected and abused by his own family, Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave to a foreign people. Sold again in the slave markets of Egypt, Joseph was purchased by captain of Pharaoh’s guard and began to serve in his house.

Joseph’s ordeal was probably worse than any of us have gone through. Yet, the LORD was with Joseph. God did not abandon Joseph, even in the smallest way. Believers often complain to God that He put them in a terrible or difficult place. Yet, in general, God’s will is for His people to trust Him to bless them and make them successful (as He measures success) wherever they are.

Some people think they can’t be blessed unless they are in authority, in charge of things. Jesus lived and taught a better way – a life as a servant.

– Jesus said, If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, learn to be the servant of all. (Matthew 20:26)
– Jesus said and lived this principle: For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. (Matthew 20:28)
– There are many wonderful titles for Jesus the Messiah, but one of the most meaningful is Servant of the Lord (Matthew 12:18, Isaiah 42:1). Yes, He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the King of Kings – yet Jesus is also a servant, the ultimate servant.

Believers can and must learn the blessing of being a servant; if it isn’t forced upon a believer, then they can choose it.

Even at this early point when it seemed Joseph had no control over circumstances – and indeed he had none – God overruled the evil or unpredictable choices of man to accomplish His eternal purpose. The LORD made Joseph a successful man.

By his trust in God, diligent work, and blessing from God, Joseph showed Potiphar that God was real, and that the LORD was with Joseph. Followers of Jesus should live out the same principle today; others should see the difference Jesus makes in the life of believers by the way they work.

It is a great blessing to say of anyone, the LORD was with him. Think of the contrast between Joseph and his brothers. The brothers were not sold as slaves and they slept in their own beds among their own families. At the same time, Joseph was a slave, but free because the LORD was with him. The brothers were free, but slaves to secrets, shame, and guilt.

In Jesus Christ, the Servant of the LORD, it is true: the LORD is with you.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. (Genesis 37:3-4)

The story of Joseph begins with a description of his messed-up, dysfunctional family. Jacob (Israel) was father over a troubled household, with much rivalry and competition. Jacob made it worse by having a clear favorite – Joseph, who was the son of his old age.

We all have ideas and dreams about what a perfect family should be. By anyone’s measure, Joseph’s family had a lot of problems.

As a young man, his father Jacob tried to trick his grandfather Isaac into giving him the family fortune instead of his older twin brother. The plan fell apart, and Joseph’s father Jacob had to run for his life when his twin brother vowed to murder him.

Jacob went away, more than 200 miles (320 km) on foot. He did not see his father Isaac for more than twenty years, only meeting again when Isaac was almost dead. There is no record that Jacob ever saw his mother again.

Among his mother’s relatives, Jacob’s uncle cheated him and treated him like a slave. Jacob married two of his cousins and took two more concubines (something like formally recognized mistresses).

Between them all, they had twelve sons and one daughter. There was constant rivalry and conflict among all many children and the four mothers, centering on the rivalry between the sisters Rachel and Leah.

It was one great big messed-up family; still, it brought forth Joseph, and furthered God’s great plan of the ages.

It can be helpful to remember that as a man, Jesus Himself came from difficult family circumstances. By God’s miracle, His mom became pregnant well before the wedding.

His mom and dad were quickly married, far ahead of their announced wedding date. When Jesus was just a young child, they had to escape as refugees, fleeing for their lives.

They made a home back in Nazareth, where everyone knew about the strange pregnancy and the hurried wedding. Jesus Himself never got married – regarded as unusual and maybe even scandalous for a 30-year-old rabbi.

We don’t know what happened to His adoptive father Joseph, and His mother Mary seemed a little pushy. His own brothers didn’t believe in Him and called Him crazy. Jesus said that being in God’s family was more important to Him than His biological family. Jesus put His mom into the care of one of His disciples, not one of His brothers.

God’s word to everyone is this: Your messed-up family – past, present, or future – does not mean God has forsaken you or that some cloud has come over you that will never pass. We may trust that God works in and through difficult and messed-up families. Don’t lose hope!

Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. (Genesis 35:16-18)

Jacob and his family were back in Canaan, and by this time had 12 children – 11 sons and one daughter. Previously, the birth of a son to Jacob was seen as a victory for the wife who bore the son, winning over her sister. Each son was a cause for rejoicing and victory in the competition with her rival.

Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, gave birth to their twelfth son in the land of Canaan, and the birth was difficult as she labored in childbirth. Weak and near death, she called out the name of her last son, and she called his name Ben-Oni, meaning “son of my sorrow.”

However, Jacob wouldn’t let this stand. He called him Benjamin. Jacob wisely changed the name of the child to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” Perhaps he rightly sensed the special place God had for this child, or perhaps he simply prized Benjamin so greatly because he was the final link between him and Rachel, the woman he most loved.

The name “Son of My Right Hand” (Benjamin) was special because the right side was associated with greater strength and honor because most people are right-handed. “Son of My Right Hand” has the idea of “son of my strength” or “son of my honor.”

This idea is expressed in passages like Exodus 15:6: Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

The Lord is our strength and honor, as in Psalm 16:8: I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Wonderfully, God’s strength and honor are for His people: My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:8). Though I walk in the midst of trouble…Your right hand will save me (Psalm 138:7).

When it came to our rescue, our salvation, our redemption, God would never do the work half-way or with only part of His strength. If His hand would rescue us, it would be His right hand, representing all God’s skill and strength. Today, you can thank God that He didn’t go half-way when it came to saving you.

Best of all, we know that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, the position of strength and honor, and believers sit there with Him: If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” (Genesis 33:8-9)

When Jacob was last in the presence of his brother Esau, he heard his twin vow to kill him at his earliest opportunity. That was more than enough to make Jacob run as far as he could to the east, until he met and married into his mother’s family.

Now, after 20 years, Jacob was returning to Canaan and knew he would meet Esau. Jacob was terrified, remembering Esau’s threats and knowing his brother was the kind of rough man who could fulfill every violent promise.

Jacob hoped to calm Esau’s temper with gifts. According to Genesis 32:13-20, Jacob’s gift included 220 goats, 60 camels, 40 cows, 10 bulls, and 30 donkeys. After receiving the gift, Esau finally met Jacob and first said to him, What do you mean by all this company which I met? Jacob’s generous gifts confused Esau. He did not expect them, showing that he had no sense of superiority over Jacob or did not have a strong sense that Jacob owed him.

The true beauty of Esau’s character is found in the phrase he used to reply to Jacob: I have enough. He initially refused his brother’s generous gift because was content with what he had. Esau wasn’t dominated by the itch to have more and more. He had enough.

It’s a great thing for every believer to say: I have enough. It communicates the heart of what Paul described in 1 Timothy 6:6: Godliness with contentment is great gain. This godly contentment is essential, yet difficult for many reasons.

– Saying I have enough is only truly possible when the heart is rooted in eternal things; and contentment is essential because it shows we are living with an eternal perspective, not only trying to feather an earthly nest.

– Saying I have enough is difficult, because modern consumer culture feeds our lack of contentment, by rewarding us when we are discontent, and with advertising that tries to make us feel discontent without buying a certain item or experience.

– Saying I have enough is difficult, because we almost always desire far more than we need.

It’s easy for many Christians to say they have this contentment; but whether they have it or not is often more truthfully known by looking at their spending and shopping habits. How much of a place does shopping and buying have in your life? How does the loss of material things affect your happiness? How happy do you get from having some material thing?

Esau’s peace and contentment showed him to be a remarkably blessed man, though he did not receive the promise of the Abrahamic covenant as he had hoped.

May you receive the great gift of being able to say, I have enough.