Lessons
Learned
‘A fruitful
bough, growing by a well.’ 1
An incredible story to
tell.
The life of Joseph, to us
all so awe inspiring:
Grace that to him under
pressure was transpiring.
A true story to us from the
ages,
Whose plot still unfolds on
our life’s stages.
Whether to God you may be
friend or foe,
From this life, some things
you will learn and know!
Just as coins have a
two-sided display,
Lessons from Joseph two
sides still convey.
Lessons learned reflect well as …lives atoned.
Lessons denied are simply …those postponed!
Joseph, tried and steeled
in life’s furnace of affliction,
Then molded in what we’d
call a life of abandon.
Though destined for
leadership as ‘deputy king’,
He endured that which only
tough grooming would bring.
So let’s ponder what he
needed to learn,
Then see what in your life,
you may discern,
From a lad without
schooling or pedigree,
Who in God’s purview, was ‘wilderness
worthy’. 2
To be groomed for kingship,
he would need time to learn:
The Egyptian’s language, and
their culture discern,
To eat and survive on their
different diet,
In their lives to blend,
yet his culture not forfeit.
He had to learn grace and
growth under great pressure,
Humility as God made all
his work prosper,
Obedience, first as a slave,
then a prisoner,
And the skills of a manager
and supervisor.
Add learning to manage resources
with integrity,
And how to exercise, yet
submit to authority,
To retain Godly character
in morality,
And to experience awful
pangs of poverty.
He had to learn to shun
spirits of unforgiveness,
Of retaliation/vengeance
and deep bitterness,
Of boastfulness and pride,
as he was thrice promoted,
And without hope in a
strange land, to stay devoted.
Hold on! There are lessons he yet had to learn,
Those most crucial in his
wilderness sojourn:
To retain and grow fearful
respect of God, awesome,
And in all of life, to
perceive His Hand. That’s wisdom!
He had to learn to not
forfeit his two early dreams,
His interest in perceiving
from them insightful streams,
Then, in strong faith, to
speak what he perceived,
Whether or not listeners
who heard believed.
While we can withstand the
wilderness for short seasons,
What to do when days become
weeks, months, years …unbroken?
Continual pressures may
well have a focus that’s double:
Pressing out the un-useful, making room for the re-source-full. 3
Imagine if Joseph hadn’t
passed one of his chain-linked tests! 4
In no annals of history
would his sad story rest.
Thank The Lord this was not
the case.
Now his story can’t be
erased!
Heads up! Much of life is our wilderness equivalent,
If/as we live by Grace in
God’s Kingdom enlightenment.
So on Joseph’s life and
lessons, let’s freshly meditate,
And perceive what in our
lives we need to recalibrate.
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1
See: Genesis 49:22
2
Those whom God uses mightily typically have some kind of wilderness
experience(s), whether literally or figuratively, dedicated time and space away
from worldly cultural influences, to be purged, renewed, strategically
re-directed, and empowered.
3
Fresh re-supplying of any/all requisite inner resources, often for God’s
continued and/or higher use(s).
4
In fashioning and/or allowing tests, God is highly strategic. (See: Jeremiah 17:10)
