Journey--Remarkable: God made you remarkable (Joseph)
As we journey with Jesus, we saw last week that we were made by God to be remarkable – to be temporary citizens of this world who stand out because of our allegiance to Him. Daniel was not afraid to be remarkable and because of it, the good news of the one true God was shared with the entire world.
Being remarkable makes you stand out because you are unusual and being different from everyone else can be difficult, but don’t lose heart –
Hebrews 12:1 | Therefore… let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race (or the journey) God has set before us.
Being remarkable is worth it because it gives us an opportunity to make God known. Because of this, God not only made us to be remarkable, he made us remarkable – uniquely gifted, talented, and skilled. We saw this in Daniel’s life last week and we’ll see it again today in the story of Joseph.
When we meet Joseph in Genesis 37, it is already clear that he is remarkable– his father loves him more than his 10 brothers (vs 3). He wears a special colorful coat that makes him stand out and reminds his brothers that he is their father’s favorite (vs. 3) - they hate Joseph for it (vs. 4). He also has these crazy dreams that get under his brothers’ skin (vs. 5-11).
It is Joseph’s remarkable nature in a sinful fallen world that gets him in trouble–
Genesis 37:19-20 | “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
Thankfully, Reuben convinces his brothers to scale their plan back a bit. Instead-
Genesis 37:28 | So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
Joseph is sold into slavery and much like Daniel, ends up separated from his family, living in a foreign land. It is here that we continue to see that God has made Joseph remarkable–
Genesis 39:1-2 | When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
Joseph is able to skillfully lead Potiphar’s affairs and everything in Potiphar’s home is blessed by God because of Joseph (39:5).
When Joseph ends up falsely imprisoned, the Lord continues to give Joseph remarkable abilities–
Genesis 39:21-23 | But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.
When two men in prison with Joseph have upsetting dreams (40:5-7), God gives Joseph a special gifting that allows him to understand those dreams. This remarkable gift is Joseph’s ticket out of prison when Pharoah has dreams that need to be interpreted (Genesis 41:2-15).
Genesis 41:14-15 | Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”
Joseph’s talents and abilities have brought him before the Pharaoh - the king of the land. Joseph could have simply told Pharaoh the meaning of his dream, but first, Joseph says–
Genesis 41:16 | “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”
God has made Joseph remarkable and Joseph uses his remarkable abilities to point Pharoah straight to the only thing that matters: The one true God.
Joseph’s adventure continues and is one that is worth taking time to dig into as it is an incredible example of the twists and turns our journeys with Jesus can take. But for now, consider Joseph’s faithfulness with the ways God made him remarkable. Joseph uses his special talents and abilities to point straight to the Lord, rather than to himself.
If you’re journeying with Jesus–
Romans 12:6a | In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
There are areas where God has made you remarkable.
Areas of who you are– your intelligence, your humor, your wisdom, your friendliness, your creativity, your fearlessness, your single mindedness, etc.
Areas of talent – ability to sing, to learn quickly, to organize, to create, to solve problems, to lead, etc.
And areas of spiritual gifting– to show mercy, to teach, to shepherd, to evangelize, to encourage, to show kindness, to be hospitable, to disciple, etc.
As you journey with Jesus, ask God to show you the ways He has made you remarkable and then use them to make Him known. Like we saw with Joseph–
Proverbs 18:16 NASB | A person’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great people.
Be faithful with the ways God has made you remarkable. You never know who your remarkability will put you in front of, but be sure of this – it will give you the opportunity to make known the One who rescued you, redeemed you, and made you remarkable. God made you remarkable so you could make Him known.
Why does God make His followers remarkable?
In what areas has God made you remarkable?
Personality
Ability
Spiritual Gifting
If you’re not sure, we’re glad to help! Email us at families@rockfenton.com
Are you being faithful with the remarkable areas of your life? In what way or why not?
How has God used (or how can use in the future) your remarkability to make Himself known to others?
Have you ever wasted an opportunity to make God known by using your remarkability for yourself? When?
Plan ahead– how can you make God known in the areas you are remarkable?