The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper (Genesis 39:23).
Joseph is an example of the attitude we should have when things go awry in our lives.
As a teenager, God gave him a vision of himself as a leader. This vision changed how Joseph saw himself, and affected everything he did. Because he saw himself as an overcomer, he rose above every problem he encountered. It seems that the dream
Joseph had of being a leader, even over his entire family, gave Joseph the idea that God was with him. No matter what circumstance challenged him, he knew that he was not alone, and that the Lord was there with him to make the best of whatever situation arose.
Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph to some slave traders. The traders sold him to the household of an Egyptian leader to be their slave. Because Joseph didn’t see himself as a slave, he eventually became the ruler of the leader’s household.
Joseph was thrown into prison after being wrongfully accused of attempted rape. But Joseph’s attitude caused him to rise above the prison chains. He became one of the leaders among the prisoners and helped the guards greatly.
Finally, after correctly interpreting the Pharaoh of Egypt’s dream, Joseph was appointed as Prime Minister of Egypt. No one but Pharaoh had greater power than Joseph. And Joseph’s teenage dream of his family bowing before was literally fulfilled when he was thirty years of age.
Joseph is a great example to us of the power of our attitude to regulate us during hard times. Attitude determines altitude someone has said. You never rise above attitude. What you think about yourself deep inside determines how you respond to life’s circumstances.
Joseph saw himself as a winner and his attitude brought him through being rejected by his siblings; through being sold as a slave; through false accusation; and through being wrongfully imprisoned.
What attitude do you have right now in the midst of your current circumstance? How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself alone in the struggles of life, or do you see yourself as a person who has God with you at all times? We never rise above what you think about ourselves.
For the first part of my life as a child and then into my teenage years, I saw myself as inferior to everyone else. I filled my thoughts with self-pity, loathing over why I was so introverted and shy, why I was so tall, lanky, and ugly, and why others seems to pick on me. I saw myself alone, hemmed in by what life had given me.
But my vision of who I was was transformed on September 12, 1976, when Jesus came into my life, cleansed my sin, filled me with His Spirit, and lifted me out of the mire of my own way! I learned that He loved me; that the Father was no longer mad about my past mistakes; that God loved me as much as He loves Jesus His own Son; that as a Christian I am an heir of God, and an equal heir with Jesus Christ to all that God has and is; that I have been made righteous by the sacrifice of Christ; that I am accepted completely by God; that am seated with Jesus in a place of authority over satanic forces; that I am already blessed with everything I need to navigate through life in a fallen world; and that not one minute of life am I ever left alone to deal with challenges that come.
My attitude went from pessimism to optimism, from dark to light, from doubt to faith, from fear to love, and from defeat to an attitude that all things are possible with God!
If you are challenged by life in general, I understand. And I am living proof, that if you will take the Word of God at face value, and act like it is true for you, your attitude and life will be transformed. You will never be the same. Like Joseph, we all rise to what we really think about ourselves. Attitude really does determine altitude!
I’ll leave you with these scriptures to help with attitude adjustments that we all must make at times:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins (Ephesians 1:3-7 – NLT).
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death (Romans 8:1-2 – NLT).
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering (Romans 8:15-17 – NLT).
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).
Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be people perfectly and fully developed with no defects, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4- Amplified).