Genesis 41:15- 21
It’s February
Just in case you did the impossible and skipped over this paragraph’s heading, I’ll announce to you the big news: It’s February! It’s as if we were just hearing the fireworks of New Year’s, but time continues to move so rapidly. Around this time we tend to find out who’s really serious about their New Year’s resolutions and promises. Every study and survey I’ve scanned reveals that weight loss is by far the leading resolution. On the other hand, now that we’re one month in, I can imagine some of us have already thrown that box of new fitness equipment in the garage next to the Bowflex we vowed to put together after receiving it as a gift for Christmas 2015. Don’t worry– I’m not here to beat you up. I don’t want to remind someone of a failure, but I do want to talk a bit about weight loss.
The Dream
We pick up in Genesis 41 with Pharaoh having a dream of seven cows that seem to have taken the strongest form of Slim Fast. He dreams of seven cows that were fat and sleek being eaten by seven skinny cows. What really grabs Pharaoh’s attention is after the skinny cows eat, they maintain their slenderness. Right about now, someone might be saying, “Show me where to sign up for this weight loss plan!” But there was more to this dream than meets the eye. This dream so gripped Pharaoh, who was the supreme authority in the land of Egypt, that he didn’t mind calling for the services of a convicted felon (Joseph) as long as he had answers. Joseph reminds Pharaoh that this revelation could only come from God (v. 16) and reveals to him the meaning of the dream (Genesis 41:28- 31). In Joseph’s interpretation, we learn an invaluable life principle that we can take into the rest of this year. Moreover, I believe this principle can be used to successfully manage our lives for years to come.
The Odd Couple
It’s amazing that God would give me this passage and devotional in February as we get ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Just before you get your flowers and gifts ready for that special someone, let’s take a look at what seems to be an odd couple. Pharaoh has a dream of seven skinny cows eating seven fat cows. Joseph, with the help of God, reveals to Pharaoh that this means Egypt will enjoy seven years of overwhelming prosperity and then endure seven years of severe famine. The skinny cows maintained their sleekness as a symbol that the latter seven years will be far worse than the first (Genesis 41:30, 31). Even after years of study, this dream and its meaning always draws my attention due to the fact we see success and failure side-by-side. Imagine for a moment God made you a deal that He would give you seven of the most prosperous years of your life. God promises you there’d be no shortage in any area. You would have complete satisfaction after the fulfillment of all your desires. The catch is that when the seven years are up, you would have to endure seven years that are far worse than any of your former years of prosperity. Another way to put it is for seven years you could live it up mansion style, but the following seven years will be spent in skid row.
While this biblical narrative may seem extreme, it’s not as rare as you think. Lilies grow in swamps, berries that are juicy and sweet are sometimes in some of the most difficult and remote places, cures for diseases are often found in the same animals that have venom powerful enough to kill us upon contact. What I’m saying is beauty can be found in the midst of some of the toughest places, and, in life, success is usually walking hand-in-hand with failure. You can’t have one without the other. Instead, it’s about remaining humble in your triumphs and determined in your trials. How you manage both will determine your readiness for greater blessings and responsibility.
When we hear the fireworks of New Year’s and make our resolutions, we often speak as if the year to come will be problem free. We make the promises of better financial discipline, to get out of debt, quit a nasty habit, or how we opened this devotional: weight loss (sorry to bring it up again). The truth is this year and the years to come will be like any other year in the sense that it will have its ups and downs, trials and triumphs, and successes and failures. I don’t write this to give you good and bad news, but instead, like God did in Genesis 41, I’m telling you so you can expect it and prepare. When Jesus told his disciples of trouble in the days and years ahead, the chapter concludes with Jesus saying, “I didn’t tell you these things so you can freak out, but instead I told you these things so when the days of trouble come they won’t seem strange to you. You’ll remember I told you about this and you’ll maintain your peace” (John 16:33).
The Seduction of Success
There are many books that focus on overcoming your failures and how to sort through difficult times– we’ll get there in a moment; for now, I want to focus on the lesser-mentioned seduction of success. After Joseph told Pharaoh the meaning of his dreams, he became point man and manager of all of Egypt. He was second only to Pharaoh and placed in charge of the most powerful nation in the world at the age of 30 (Genesis 41:40, 43, 46). This sounds like an E! True Hollywood Story or a VH1 Behind the Music special waiting to happen. A young star with talent receives a lofty position (v. 41), jewelry (v. 42), a new car (v. 43a), fame (43b), a woman (v. 45b), and freedom to move throughout the land with absolute immunity (v. 45c). These are all of the ingredients for a young man to crash and burn; instead, Joseph does not succumb to the seduction of success. He enters into service during some of the best years of Egyptian history (v. 47). Choosing not to focus on the success of the moment, Joseph has 14 years on his mind instead of just the first prosperous seven. He maintains a level head, sets up what we today would call franchises (v. 48, 56), and establishes proper accounting techniques until the grain was beyond measure (v. 49). Joseph had the foresight to see he needed intense management during a season of success.
Keep in mind, I called it a season of success in keeping with the laws governing God’s spiritual universe. Solomon said it this way: “To everything there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). In other words, there is an established time for success. We can read this in the life of David. In one season of his life, he has overwhelming victory on the battlefield (2 Samuel 8:14b), but later, as his season changed due to older age, he almost loses his life if not for the help of another brave soldier. The men of Israel conclude the season of David’s success in this capacity is over (2 Samuel 21:15- 17). That is the seduction of success. It can lure us into thinking that it will always be a certain way. One of the leading causes of movie stars and athletes going bankrupt is they don’t plan for the “seven years of famine.” They overspend and overindulge in the years of plenty, assuming the success they’ve enjoyed will always be there. Not only is this principle in the spiritual universe, but, physically speaking, this law of successful seasons can be summed up in Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion: “What goes up must come down.”
While God does want to give us lasting success, the decisions you make during your most prosperous season will determine just how long your prosperity will last. Proper management in a season of great success can mean continued prosperous living even when doors aren’t opening as fast or as often as they once did. Some days you’ll feel like you can’t lose even when you try. I advise you to enjoy your success, but try not to mismanage it. Samson had this problem. He couldn’t lose for winning. Even when he broke God’s laws and didn’t live morally correct, he would always end up winning in battle. His problem was he didn’t know how to manage success, and he eventually crashed and burned. He had one great final victory, but it was at the cost of his life (Judges 13- 16). Failure to manage in years of plenty can turn you to a beggar in the years of famine (Genesis 47:13- 25). Remember when the cows are fat (prosperous), one day they can be devoured by the skinny. Thank God Joseph didn’t become arrogant when the cows were fat. He anticipated and prepared for the tougher days ahead.
The Fight in Failure
Lastly, while we have to make sure not to get too high in success, likewise, we cannot get too low in failure. This odd couple of success and failure is one that must be managed carefully. While success can be seductive, we must fight our emotions in failure to ensure we don’t assume we ourselves are failures and overlook the opportunities failure presents to us. This relationship of success and failure was not introduced to Joseph at the age of 30 when he started working for Pharaoh, but it was one he had been dealing with all his life. In fact, the experience Joseph had in this area is what qualifies him to be able to handle this 14-year relationship of success and failure in Egypt. For Joseph, standing in front of Pharaoh and hearing he’s received the second highest position in all of Egypt was a great triumph. I’m sure Joseph had to be thinking, “What a difference a day can make. I was just in prison yesterday until I got the call to fix myself up because I’m going to meet the king” (Genesis 41:14). Imagine if Joseph would have sulked in his failure and decided to shrug off meeting with the king. Instead, Joseph, in a season of failure, ends up using his God-given gifts on people that seemingly offered him no advantage (Genesis 40:1- 8). While I’m sure he was saddened to remain in prison after helping the cupbearer get free (Genesis 40:23, 41:1), Joseph remained prepared enough that when it was time to seize an opportunity in meeting with Pharaoh, it opened the door to success.
Throughout Joseph’s life, we see success and failure coupled together. He was successful in his father’s house, then he was in a pit. He was successful in Potiphar’s house, then he was in prison. He was successful in prison then he meets Pharaoh. Realizing that success and failure are coupled together, Joseph fights in failure, remains watchful, and, when the time was right, he seizes the opportunities afforded him. You might be in a tough season now, but I challenge you not to get too low. Hanging your head may cause you to miss an opportunity. Besides negative emotions, the greatest fight in failure is perception. If failure is perceived correctly, it prepares us for success and opens our eyes to new opportunities to expand. After gaining experience in the area of failure, when the time comes for famine, Joseph is 37-years-old and prepared for it. Seizing the opportunities afforded to him in a season of Egyptian failure, Joseph actually expands Pharaoh’s financial portfolio. In the midst of the world’s failure (Genesis 41:57), Joseph obtains more assets for Pharaoh than ever before (Genesis 40:13- 25). In his management of failure, Joseph obtains jobs for his family (Genesis 47:6), housing and property in the best suburban neighborhood (Genesis 47:11), and food that would last them throughout the entire famine. I challenge you that your perception of failure could not only be what’s stopping you, but it could be the stumbling block that’s stopping the success of your entire family. Decide right now, whether it’s something as small pulling that weight loss equipment back out or, on a larger scale, deciding to get back on the computer and write that book again; perhaps it is pulling out the sewing machine and going after that fashion design business or restarting and retooling that ministry God has placed on your heart. Say, “I will fight my negative emotions, and I’m determined to perceive and seize the opportunities presented in failure.”
I want you to maintain balance, realizing there’s no such thing as a success-free or failure-free life. In this life you’ll have both, and, like Genesis 41, you’ll be surprised how often they are back to back. Again, don’t think this is strange. Remember: day and night must meet at some point, but if you sort through the failures and manage the success, you’ll be able to enjoy more days.