"Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.” Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him. (Genesis 45:13-15)
If you're under the impression that you are going to be great because of some accomplishment you've achieved but harbor wrong attitudes, you're in for a terrible jolt. Greatness comes in the sweet-spirit attitudes of humility and forgiveness toward others. Joseph sets before us a magnanimous example. How beautifully forgiving he was, how generous in his mercy.
It takes God to make the heart right. When I have a wrong attitude, I look at life humanly. When I have a right attitude, I look at life divinely. That's the real beauty of Joseph's life. That's the kernel of truth his life represents. He was great, mainly because of his attitude.
And there are specific lessons that grow out of that single truth. Let me offer at least three for your consideration.
First: When I'm able, by faith, to see God's plan in my location, my attitude will be right. God sent me . . . God sent me . . . God sent me. Not until you can relax and see God in your present location will you be useful to Him. A positive theological attitude will do wonders for your geographical latitude.
Second: When I'm able, by faith, to sense God's hand in my situation, my attitude will be right. I don't begin the day gritting my teeth, asking, "Why do I have to stay in this situation?" Instead, I believe that He made me the way I am and put me where I am to do what He has planned for me to do.
Third: When I'm able, by faith, to accept both location and situation as good, even when there's been evil in the process, my attitude will be right. When I can say with Joseph, "but God meant it for good," then I become a trophy of grace.
Joseph shows us that the only way to find happiness in the grind of life is to do so by faith. A faith-filled life means all the difference in how we view everything around us. It affects our attitudes toward people, toward location, toward situation, toward circumstances, toward ourselves. Only then do our feet become swift to do what is right.
You say you want to be considered great some day? Here's the secret: walk by faith, trusting God to renew your attitude.
Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com
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