Man with the Plan
It is important to be ready to work, but it is also helpful to have a plan.
Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find anyone else like this one in whom is the spirit of God?' So Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.' And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.' - Genesis 41:38-41
I truly admire Joseph. Not only is he resilient, weathering every storm that comes his way with faithfulness and a strong spirit, but also because he knows how to take control when the opportunity arises.
In today's reading, Pharaoh calls for him because no one else can explain his dreams, and he has heard that Joseph is a good interpreter of dreams.
But when called to explain them, Joseph not only told Pharaoh that there will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, but he did something more. He offered a solution to the problem.
He suggested that someone be given authority over all the work that needed to be done in all the land.
He wrote his own job description, knowing he was the only candidate for the job.
Why don't we all do that?
How many times did I hold my tongue and fail to offer a solution for fear of overstepping my bounds or sounding foolish?
Joseph helps Pharaoh see that Joseph is the most qualified, simply by laying out all his cards. Of course, he ran the risk of having Pharaoh take his idea and give it to someone else, so it took guts and a heck of a lot of self-confidence to give up his idea.
But Joseph had a lot of experience. He had helped others before and given them solutions that they took and ran with, leaving him out of the equation.
So, the lesson for us must be to take risks, putting our best ideas forward and being ready to run with them.
It is different from knowing what others should do. We are all good at that. Joseph shows us that we need to propose what we will do to fix the problem. Here is the solution and I am the one who can make it happen.
Cocky? Yes.
We all have a problem with people who are so full of themselves that they think they are the only ones who can do the work, but here is an example of the Spirit of God helping Joseph to do just that.
Do we have a solution? Are we ready to run with it?
If it is worth doing, it is worth making it happen.
Perhaps it is time for our great ideas to become plans.
More to come...