Joseph: How Did He Know God’s Will?

Discovering God’s will for my life sometimes seems more complex than that crazy-looking highway in the picture. But there’s one biblical character who seems to have sailed through a host of difficult circumstances in life with the Spirit-led GPS (God’s Peace System): Jacob’s eleventh son–Joseph. (photo attribution: austrini, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

In Feast or Famine explores Joseph’s life after his years of slavery and false imprisonment. Joseph had remained faithful to Elohim through it all and found favor with the prison warden whom he served as an assistant. During that unjust imprisonment, he’d also interpreted dreams for two of Pharaoh’s officials; but he would wait two years before one of them remembered his talent and recommended him to Pharaoh. When Pharaoh’s wise men couldn’t interpret his nightmares, Egypt’s king relied on Joseph’s ability to interpret his dreams and KNOW God’s will.

“Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them . . . Now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.” Genesis 41:29-30, 33-35

God then saved Egypt and the whole ancient world—through Joseph—from the worst famine recorded to date.

My Question:

Were all Joseph’s decisions during those 14 years of feast and famine in perfect alignment with God’s will?

Why am I asking? Because I used to be paralyzed into doing NOTHING when I was unsure of God’s will about a decision.

How about you?

What do you do when you’re unsure of your next move? How do you determine what God wants you to do NEXT in your life or situation?

A Look at Joseph’s Example

Let’s look to Joseph’s biblical story and glean some concepts that could help us in our own decisions.

Circumstances Beyond Our Control

Otto Adolph Stemler (1872–1953), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and proposed the solution to Egypt’s next fourteen years of feast/famine, Egypt’s king didn’t ASK Joseph if he’d like to serve as vizier. He didn’t ASK Joseph if he wanted to wear the king’s signet ring or marry a pagan high priest’s daughter. Nope. Joseph was freed from prison AND thrust into a very difficult political position of power—as well as an impossible faith conundrum!

When life deals us situations we can’t change, we have a choice:

1. Kick and scream, exhausting ourselves and those around us with complaining.
2. Trust our God to use ANY situation to draw us closer to Him, display His glory, and (somehow) turn it around for positive Kingdom effect.

Emotional Reaction or Prayerful Consideration?

the Providence Lithograph Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the toughest aspects of biblical fiction is determining the underlying emotional motives of the characters we’ve read about all our lives—and think we know. Joseph was especially tough because he’s such a righteous guy! Yet some of the things he did after his brothers showed up in Egypt were a little questionable. I had to wonder: Did he let his anger/emotions get the better of him, or did he seek God’s will before making every decision with his brothers?

“As morning dawned, [Joseph’s brothers] were sent on their way with their donkeys. They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, ‘Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, “…Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination?”’” Genesis 44:3-5

We find out later that he’d hidden his silver goblet in Benjamin’s sack, intending to send the other ten home. While it seems his intention was to protect the only other son of Rachel from the ten brothers who had sold Joseph into slavery, his methods could be seen as cruel. And what’s with the “divination” stuff? Could all of Joseph’s trickery be God’s will, or was Joseph acting out in twenty-year-old pain, grief, and fear for his little brother? Only God can know Joseph’s heart. (Remember, the way I wrote it in In Feast or Famine is strictly FICTION!)

Unforeseen Ramifications

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s nightmares in Genesis 41, Elohim gave him a pretty amazing glimpse into His long-term plan for the future:

• Choose a wise and discerning man to put in charge of grain distribution.
• Appoint commissioners to take a fifth of the grain during years of abundance.
• Store food in cities (in which it was grown) under authority of Pharaoh.

“So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude (footnote’s alternate translation: and he moved the people into the cities), from one end of Egypt to the other. However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them.” Genesis 47:20-22 NIV (emphasis added)

Whether we read v. 21 as Joseph reduced the Egyptians to servitude or that he moved them all into cities, either rendering means much the same in an agrarian society. If the people couldn’t grow their own crops or raise their own livestock, how else could they feed their families except to sell their own labor? That’s servitude. So…think about this…was it Joseph who made Egypt dependent on a healthy pool of government laborers—aka: slaves? Did the man who did God’s will in Genesis cause the unforeseen consequence of Israel’s bondage in Exodus?

Ummmm… Let’s take a closer look at how that question and others can affect how WE approach seeking God’s will for our lives!

God’s Will For Our Lives

I’m married to a planner and a Type-A thinker. He studies a decision for weeks, months even, before “pulling the trigger.” He likes to consider every possible contingency so we don’t get surprised on the other side of whatever decision we make. It works—most of the time.

However, the Lord really likes to prove to every control freak that we’re not the ones in control—and that we can THOROUGHLY trust Him! That’s why no matter how many contingencies my hubby considers, there’s usually one surprise in the mix.

That’s why we’re both thankful for a study we did together back on the late 90’s called, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. There have been many updated versions and formats since then, but the link I provided was the workbook we did—four times with various groups. It gave us invaluable wisdom on knowing and doing God’s will with these four simple benchmarks:

1. Look to Scripture for God’s guidance
2. Ask trusted mentors and friends for godly counsel
3. Watch for God to approve or reject the decision through circumstances
4. Listen for God’s nudge (for or against) while persevering in prayer

When all four of these signals point in the same direction AT THE SAME TIME, we’ve made many major life decisions with confidence that we’re moving in the direction God is calling us. Oh, and here’s one more very practical piece of advice that we’ve learned during our nearly forty years together:

It’s easier to steer a moving vehicle than a parked car!

So take a step in the direction you believe God is calling. Then KEEP waiting and listening for changes in direction!

Today’s Question:

• Has there been a time you were absolutely certain of God’s will in your life? How did you know?