When God Built a Hero

The life of Joseph has all the earmarks of a real page-turner. It’s the story of an over-indulgent father, a somewhat spoiled son, jealous brothers, and an international food crisis. But it’s also a story that shows the hand of God at work in every scene, ruling and overruling the decisions people make.

In the end, God built a hero. He saved a family and created a nation that became a blessing to all the earth: the nation Israel. You see, Joseph wasn’t just a world changer. Joseph was, quite literally, a world saver. Because of the decisions he made, thousands of people had their lives changed and saved. Joseph’s story is a classic rags-to-riches tale as he faced constant setbacks and rose from complete obscurity to become the second-most powerful man on Earth.

Joseph was a man who used his faith. While we see some heroes of the faith in Scripture struggling with doubt or experiencing momentary lapses of faith, we cannot find a single shade of doubt in the life of Joseph.

Faith is like a muscle. It needs to be put into practice and applied. Joseph certainly did that. In his story, we learn how to overcome adversity, how to face envy from others, how to resist sexual temptation, and how to lay hold of and have faith in the promises of God.

Interestingly, Joseph himself appeared to be someone with little promise. He was a simple shepherd boy, the eleventh of twelve sons. He also was a spoiled young man, given to visions of grandeur in some ways. Joseph had dreams, but in his case, his dreams came from God—and God preserved him and blessed him.

If you want to be a world changer, you need to be a man or woman of faith.