Joseph’s Rollercoaster
For many years, I have been convinced that everyone goes through periods in his or her life when they are on some type of a rollercoaster. The only thing is, it’s typically a rollercoaster they don’t want to be on. It can be an emotional rollercoaster, a physical/painful one, a financial one, and so on. And having been on them myself, I know that questions abound such as, “Why am I going through this?” or “When can I get off of this crazy ride and just ride the Ferris Wheel?” and can plague someone so much as to keep them from sleeping or having decent mental health. It may be of little consolation, but each of us is not the first, or the last, to be on some type of rollercoaster while wanting off.
Take Old Testament Joseph (Genesis, approximately chapters 33-45) and what he went through. And get this - it’s a true story. Joseph is the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel and he is their favorite since he is the last one to be born. His teenage years are relatively normal, except that like a lot of biblical folks, he witnesses his fair share of trauma. Since he is the favorite, he gets a really fancy robe from his dad as a present. So… his brothers are really, really jealous of him. This is where things start to get crazy. Joseph is good at interpreting dreams which makes his brothers hate him more than they do already. So… while traveling they decide to kill him. One brother thinks that is a bit harsh so they decide to sell him into slavery instead of actually killing him and just tell their dad that he got killed by a wild animal. So now Joseph is a slave in Egypt. Life is not looking good for Joseph.
As a slave, Joe works for a guy by the name of Potiphar, who is fairly powerful in Egypt. Joe is a very handsome guy and so Potiphar’s wife really wants to sleep with him. Being the good guy he is, Joe keeps saying no until it really makes Potiphar’s wife mad. So much so that she accuses him of rape, even though he did nothing wrong. Of course Potiphar believes his wife and so he has Joe thrown into prison. (Note: now stuff is even worse for Joseph.) While in prison, Joseph again shows his character and at least gets to have some leeway and authority in the jail; therefore, things aren’t quite as bad as they could be - a small ride upward on the rollercoaster… BUT he is still in prison.
Finally, the Pharaoh of Egypt has a dream that he needs help with. Joseph helps him understand this enormous dream and understand it correctly. Not only is Joseph made second in command of the entire country of Egypt, he saves millions of lives from famine and eventually holds the fate of his brothers who sold him in his hands (he forgives them). He becomes rich, powerful and, in this particular story, forgiving.
I’m summarizing greatly for the sake of space but Joseph rode a rollercoaster in life that would make most of our heads spin, regardless of what we have been through. However, God was with him and he got off the terror-filled ride. Not only did he exit the ride, he exited it as a much stronger and better person than when he was forced onto it and exited in a much better situation. While our rollercoaster rides are often no fun, very few compare to this man’s. I’m hoping to learn from what he went through. As always, I look forward to your thoughts.