Many people have big dreams, but God has not called us to a fairy tale. Instead, the work God does in our lives is often accomplished in the “land of affliction.” That’s what Joseph called it.
No Average Joe Series
When Pharaoh promoted Joseph (Genesis 41), he also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath. She was the daughter of a priest named Potiphera (ironic huh?). And after a few years, they had two children. These two children were reminders of God’s faithfulness to Joseph during tough times.
So he named his first-born son, Manasseh, because God made him forget all his trouble and all his father’s household. Then he named the second child, Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land of his affliction.
Forgetful and fruitful. Those may be the two biggest words for every Jesus-follower who wants to leverage personal influence for Kingdom impact. Here’s why:
Difficulties do not define us.
The boy’s name was Manasseh, not Amnesia. Joseph did not lose consciousness of the suffering his brothers’ actions inflicted on him. But he refused to be enslaved by offenses of others. God gave him the grace to move forward even when others pushed him backward. Leaders of influence do that.
Bad times do not prevent good things.
We often attempt to increase our influence by pursuing an ideal environment. But imperfect circumstances are never barriers to God’s perfect work in our lives. God gave Joseph “Ephraim”—great success in troubled places. And “Ephraim” still marks the lives of those who trust God with their trouble.
Old problems do not extinguish new problems.
We never climb above challenges. Joseph had these two kids right before seven years of famine began. His past victories did not earn him a pass. Instead, the scars on his life strengthened him for future struggles. Jesus followers do not retire or retreat to lick their wounds or complain about old injuries. But they do reposition themselves by using personal loss for the benefit of others.
God did not make Joseph forgetful and fruitful despite his hardships. God made Joseph forgetful and fruitful in his hardships. And from those two big words a nation prospered and God’s people were preserved.
Ideal does not exist. We may prefer easy street, but no leader prospers in utopia. Instead the strain of pain allows God to produce greatness in us. Problems do not penalize us. They only promote us when God makes us forgetful and fruitful in the land of affliction.
