How would you respond if you experienced hatred, rejection, betrayal, kidnapping, the threat of death, false accusations, injustice, and abandonment? Any of these experiences could be highly traumatic. How would you respond if you experienced all of them? Between the ages of seventeen and thirty, Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob the son of Abraham, experienced them all.
Joseph was the oldest of two sons born to Jacob by his favorite wife, Rachel. Perhaps Jacob favored Joseph because of his mother and because Joseph was one of the last of Jacob’s children. To show his fondness, Jacob made Joseph a special coat. Jacob’s favoritism did not escape the notice of Joseph’s brothers who responded with anger and jealousy.
When Joseph was seventeen his father sent him to check on his brothers who were tending livestock about fifty miles from the family home. When Joseph arrived, his brothers saw an opportunity to express their anger and hatred toward him. They plotted to kill Joseph, but the oldest brother convinced them to throw Joseph into a pit with the intention of saving him later. Before the older brother could execute his plan, the fourth brother, who was in the line of Jesus, suggested that they make a profit with Joseph. So, he was sold to traders who took him to Egypt and sold him as a slave to Potiphar—a senior security official of the king.
As a slave, Joseph applied himself and enjoyed favor from the Lord. He was promoted to the position of manager of Potiphar’s house and served well until he was wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar, believing his nefarious wife, put Joseph in prison.
In prison, Joseph again demonstrated his management prowess and he enjoyed divine favor. Soon he was made chief steward of the prison. Then two of the king’s officials—the chief baker and chief cupbearer—were incarcerated for unknown reasons. Sometime later, both had dreams on the same night. Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams—the cupbearer was released, and the baker executed. Joseph made one request of the cupbearer that he would help him get out of prison. The cupbearer, however, did not follow through—at least not initially.
This is a rather amazing story. How could Joseph even function after the trauma caused by familial hatred, rejection, betrayal, kidnapping, the threat of death, and being sold into slavery? Then, while faithfully serving Potiphar in Egypt, how could he overcome being falsely accused and imprisoned? And finally, how could Joseph continue to faithfully steward the prison for another two years after interpreting the cupbearer’s dream and then being forgotten by the cupbearer?
The trauma Joseph experienced seemed unjust and unbearable; nevertheless, he prospered, eventually becoming the second-in-command in Egypt and the agent for saving his family. How could this happen? How could Joseph have endured and prospered through this thirteen-year odyssey filled with so many painful traumatic events?
May I suggest three possible reasons:
- He was able to see reality from God’s perspective.
- He never lost faith in God.
- He lived congruent with transcendent values defined by God.
Consider these key reasons in reverse order.
Joseph lived congruent with transcendent values defined by God. In the pedestrian culture of today, people presume the right to define their own values. Even among organizations and nations, leaders seek to find shared values as a basis for agreements. The presumption is that humans have the autonomous right to sovereignly embrace the values of their choice. Joseph did not think this way; he believed that God defined the values that humans are to embrace. Because God is spirit, he is transcendent, and therefore his value system will be transcendent. Joseph revealed his commitment to transcendent ethical values when Potiphar’s wife sought to seduce him, but he refused and said, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9 ESV). Joseph clearly viewed marital infidelity as a violation of God’s transcendent ethical values. This may be hard for people today to understand because we view matters of sexual morality as a personal matter rather than a divine edict.
Psalm 105:19 reveals that Joseph was tested by the word of the Lord. The prophetic dream that Joseph received as a young man was unfulfilled for at least thirteen years. This psalm intimates that, during this time, Joseph certainly wondered if and how the prophecy would be fulfilled. Nevertheless, he endured in his faith in God as demonstrated by his clear statement to both the king and his servants that God interprets dreams. Though his own dream had not been realized he did not lose faith in God.
Notwithstanding the trauma of being hated, rejected, betrayed, kidnapped, threatened with death, falsely accused, wrongly incarcerated, and abandoned, Joseph never blamed God for his circumstances. His dire circumstances did not debilitate him, rather they served to release his potential. Joseph was able to function so well as a slave that he became the chief steward in Potiphar’s house. Furthermore, though wrongly incarcerated, he was clearly a model prisoner and was promoted to the position of head steward of the prison. And in the end, he was able to see the hand of God in all the trauma. If Joseph had been negative, angry, or unforgiving, he never could have functioned with such excellence. And when he had the power to harm his brothers who had caused so much of his trauma, he did not seek revenge. Rather he was able to forgive them because he could see the hand of God in the circumstances. Being able to see reality from God’s perspective is metaphysical awareness, which enables a person to properly see the purpose of God in the circumstances of life—even painful circumstances. Consequently, while recognizing his brothers’ sin, Joseph also recognized God’s redemptive nature to use sin to accomplish good. God sent Joseph to Egypt ahead of his family, matured him, positioned him as a ruler in Egypt, and used him to save his family and preserve the lineage of Christ. This is a wonderful illustration of how God uses rulership to save his people and to support his plans.
On some level everyone will experience trauma, but trauma does not have to debilitate us. Trauma does not have to block us from finding and fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. Joseph modeled how to properly respond to traumatic circumstances.
As you compare your life to Joseph’s, perhaps you are convicted that you are not managing life as well as he did. If so, perhaps the reason is you are not living consistently by the three key principles that Joseph practiced. Consider them and how to apply them to yourself.
- We must view the events of life, including trauma, with metaphysical awareness. This means we recognize that God will use these events redemptively to release his potential in and through us.
- We must also trust that God is good and is always working everything together to accomplish his purposes. Since we exist at his pleasure, our only purpose should be to do his will. Given his sovereign, intentional, and strategic nature, he will accomplish his will through all circumstances. We must trust him and therefore not allow the trauma of life to debilitate us, depress us, or distract us from fulfilling his purpose for our lives.
- We must be obedient to God’s transcendent values and principles. We do not have the right to redefine the values and principles that we adopt. Rather, we have the responsibility to embrace and practice God’s transcendent values and principles.
When we live congruently with these key principles, trauma will not define us or debilitate us or distract us; rather, we will overcome trauma. God’s potential will be released in us and we will fulfill the Creation Mandate (Genesis 1:26-28) to rule God’s creation as his agents. As we do this, we will be used of God to fulfill his purpose for those we are called to serve. This will lead to a successful life.
The story of Joseph also illustrates a principle taught by one of my spiritual fathers, Dennis Peacocke, who famously said, "power is guarded by problems." Clearly, in the case of Joseph, his ulitimate power as second-in-command in Egypt was guarded by tramatic events that prepared him for his destiny. This is the way of the Lord. May the Lord grant us grace to overcome trauma as Joseph did!
.png)