The soft Heart of Joseph

The first Hero I want to give you an insight about is Joseph. I think he is a remarkable man of God and his story can teach us quite some interesting principles. We can find his story in Genesis starting chapter 37.

Joseph was one of the two only sons born to Jacob (Israel) by his wife Rachel. Therefore he was something special to his father and in his favor. We all know about his dreams where he dreamt that his brothers would bow before him. Interestingly his brothers probably would've never imagined doing that for real many years later.

Of course his brothers envied Joseph and decided on killing him which then ended up as selling him as a slave. That's how Joseph came to Egypt which I find remarkable because God is positioning His people very clearly! There would be a famine years later and they needed a person favoring them in order to survive it not to mention how God showed Himself mightly by leading the Israelites out of Egypt through Moses' leadership.

Anyways, Joseph is in Egypt and sold to Potifar who served the Pharao. And Joseph had favor everywhere he went and was successful at whatever he laid his hand upon. That is because he pursued the will of God... it was the most important thing for him. By staying in God's will God was able to bless him! And not only him but the people he worked for. I love that!

Then comes the woman. Very obviously she didn't draw her meaning and her worth from the Lord and needed Joseph's attention and affirmation of her beauty. So girls: The only person you should rely your ultimate affirmation on is Jesus! No person, no man, noone can ever affirm it the way God can!

But... and I love that about Joseph... he stayed faithful to the Lord... oh and what a seduction! Well, Joseph was the man you would want, strong, in love with God, focused on God!
Joseph was thrown into prison but God's blessing was sill upon him and by knowing what the Pharao's dreams meant he came out of prison and was positioned very highly in the kingdom of Egypt. Remarkably Joseph was still young when that happened. No matter how old you are. God is positioning you! He has a plan for your life and even if it may seem a little rough here and there. When you keep your eyes focused on God like Joseph God will bless you and bring you to the place he wants you to be.

In Genesis 42 Joseph's brothers came to Egpyt to ask for food as there was a huge famine. Oh and those verses I love. In verse 24 it says how Joseph went into another room and cried. I mean he cried. Why would somebody cry when seeing his brothers who wanted to kill you and then on top of that bless them. Hello? Only someone who trusts in God is able to feel this kind of love. Isn't it remarkable? I love it! It shows that Joseph's heart was still soft after all those hard years. Is your heart soft or has it hardned over the years? Let God carry your heart and guard it. Don't try to protect it yourself all the time!
The story goes on and whenever Joseph sees his brothers he feels such love for them that it's hard for him to keep his disguise. Oh wow... that just awww... I love that. This softness, this love that comes from an overflowing heart of love!

Joseph is a hero for me becaus he loved God more than anything. He was humble and yet strong. He never gave up and trusted the Lord. He stayed in the will of God by which he was blessed and found favor wherever he went. But what's most outstanding for me is his soft heart and love and forgiveness for his brothers who were actually his enemies. That for me reflects the heart of God. I admire that and want to live just like that. Absolutley devoted to God, living out of His strength, no matter how hard the times are and I want to keep a soft heart in every situation.

I want to leave you with a few questions:
Where are areas in your life where you have become hard?
How can you make sure your heart stays soft?
Who are the kind of people you need to show more love even though they hurt you in the past?

I hope you are encouaraged to live a heroic life for the Lord.
Keep coming back to the site to learn more about some amazing Heros soon.

xoxo Ramona